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City in Russell County, Kansas

Russell is the most populous city in and the county seat of Russell County, Kansas, United States.

In 1865, the Butterfield Overland Despatch established a short lived station named Fossil Creek Station along its route from Atchison, Kansas to Denver near the site of modern Russell. In 1867, the Kansas Pacific Railway reached the area and built its own station, also named Fossil Creek, later just Fossil, north of the Butterfield station. That same year, the Kansas Legislature established the surrounding area as Russell County. In 1871, colonists from Ripon, Wisconsin established a permanent settlement at Fossil Station, renaming it Russell after the county. Russell was incorporated and named the provisional county seat in 1872, and, after a two year dispute with neighboring Bunker Hill, it became the permanent county seat in 1874. In 1876, Volga Germans, mostly from the area around Saratov and Samara in Russia, began settling in and around Russell. The first discovery oil well in Russell County was drilled west of Russell in 1923. An oil boom ensued and lasted through the 1930s, attracting settlers from Oklahoma and Texas. Petroleum production became a staple of the local economy. Russell came to national attention in the mid 1990s as the hometown of U. S. Senators Bob Dole and Arlen Specter when both men campaigned for the U. S. presidency. Dole was born and raised in Russell, and it remained his official place of residence throughout his political career.

Russell is located in north central Kansas at the intersection of Interstate 70 and U. S. Route 281, Russell is approximately 113 mile (182 km) northwest of Wichita, 231 mile (372 km) west of Kansas City, and 336 mile (541 km) east southeast of Denver. The city lies in the Smoky Hills region of the Great Plains approximately 5 mile (8 km) south of the Saline River and 8 mile (13 km) north of the Smoky Hill River. Fossil Creek, a tributary of the Smoky Hill River, passes immediately south of the city where it has been dammed to form a small reservoir, Fossil Lake.

The Russell Public Library, located downtown on West Wisconsin (6th) Street, is the city's main library. A member of the Central Kansas Library System, it has a collection of more than 32,000 volumes. The library opened in 1901 and expanded into a Carnegie library in 1907, finally moving to its current facility in 1962.

Interstate 70 and U. S. Route 40 run concurrently east–west immediately south of Russell, intersecting U. S. Route 281, which runs north–south through the town, at Exit 184. U. S. Route 40 Business follows U. S. 281 north 1.5 miles to its intersection with the old alignment of U. S. 40, which runs east–west through Russell. The business route then follows the old alignment east, ending at its intersection with I 70 at exit 189. Union Pacific Railroad operates one freight rail line, the Kansas Pacific (KP) Line, through Russell. It runs east–west through the city.

Electricity production and distribution, recycling and trash removal, waste water management, and water production and distribution are all provided by separate departments of the city government. Eagle Communication and Rural Telephone provide landline telephone service; Eagle Communication and Nex Tech offer cable television and internet access. Most residents use natural gas for heating fuel; service is provided by Kansas Gas Service.

The Russell County News is the local newspaper, published weekly on Thursdays. It was a daily newspaper until 2000, then was a twice weekly newspaper from 2001 to 2015. Three radio stations broadcast from Russell. KRSL broadcasts on 990 AM, playing a Classic Country format. Its sister station KRSL FM broadcasts on 95.9 FM, playing a Classic Hits format. KCCV FM, a Christian station in Overland Park, Kansas, operates a translator station in Russell which broadcasts on 95.1 FM. Russell is in the Wichita Hutchinson, Kansas television market. KAKE, the ABC affiliate in Wichita, operates a translator station (K38GH) in Russell which broadcasts on analog channel 38. KBSH DT, KOCW, and KSNC, the respective satellite stations of the CBS, Fox, and NBC affiliates in Wichita, are located in neighboring counties, placing Russell within their broadcast radius. Smoky Hills Public Television, the PBS affiliate for western Kansas, has its headquarters in nearby Bunker Hill.

The city government's Park Department maintains seven parks in the city. The largest is Memorial Park, located on the north side of the U. S. 40 business route in the far eastern part of the city. It includes baseball fields, tennis courts, a skateboard park, a play park, a frisbee golf course, and Russell Municipal Golf Course. The municipal course is a 9 hole, regulation length course that opened in 1952. In addition, the city government operates a municipal swimming pool next to Memorial Park.

The city hosts the annual Russell County Free Fair during the last week of July. Sponsored by local businesses and organizations, the Fair includes a 4 H livestock sale, carnival, live music, and other entertainment. Other annual events include the annual Blarney Stone Hunt, the Independence Day Freedom Fireworks Celebration, Bricks, Broncs & BBQ and Flatland Car & Cycle Show the first weekend in October, the Lighted Christmas Parade, and Weihnachtsfest, a Christmas festival held the second Saturday in December for over 25 years. Every ten years since 1941, Russell has held Prairiesta, a festival commemorating the city's foundation and celebrating its heritage. Held in June, the festival includes a parade, carnival rides, live music, arts and crafts exhibits, and a historical pageant.

The Fossil Station Museum, also located in downtown Russell, displays artifacts from Russell County history dating back to the mid 1800s. Home to the Russell County Historical Society, the museum is housed in the former sheriff's office and county jail, a fortress like structure constructed of native “post rock” limestone in 1907. The Russell County Historical Society has restored and maintains two examples of early limestone homes built in Russell, the Gernon House and the Heym Oliver House. The Gernon House was built in 1872 by blacksmith Nicholas Gernon, one of the town's original settlers, and doubled as a smithery. The Heym Oliver House was built by settler Nicholas Heym in 1878. The Oil Patch Museum, located just north of I 70 Exit 184, houses exhibits on area geology and the history of local petroleum drilling, production, and transportation.