Russell County
County
Russell County Courthouse in Russell (2013)
Location within the U.S. state of Kansas
Kansas's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 38°55′00″N 98°46′00″W / 38.9167°N 98.7667°W / 38.9167; -98.7667
Country	United States
State	Kansas
Founded	February 26, 1867
Named for	Avra P. Russell
Seat	Russell
Largest city	Russell
Area
• Total	899 sq mi (2,330 km2)
• Land	886 sq mi (2,290 km2)
• Water	13 sq mi (30 km2)  1.5%
Population  (2020)[1]
• Total	6,691
• Density	7.4/sq mi (2.9/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	1st
Website	County Website

Russell County is a county in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and largest city is Russell.^[2] As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,691.^[1] The county was named for Avra Russell. The city of Russell was the home of former U.S. Senate Majority leader and 1996 GOP presidential nominee Bob Dole for many years.

History

Early history

For many millennia, the Great Plains of North America was inhabited by nomadic Native Americans. From the 16th century to 18th century, the Kingdom of France claimed ownership of large parts of North America. In 1762, after the French and Indian War, France secretly ceded New France to Spain, per the Treaty of Fontainebleau.

19th century

In 1802, Spain returned most of the land to France, but keeping title to about 7,500 square miles. In 1803, most of the land for modern day Kansas was acquired by the United States from France as part of the Louisiana Purchase.

In 1854, the Kansas Territory was organized, then in 1861 Kansas became the 34th U.S. state. In 1867, Russell County was established.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 899 square miles (2,330 km²), of which 886 square miles (2,290 km²) is land and 13 square miles (34 km²) (1.5%) is water.^[3]

Adjacent counties

• Osborne County (north)
• Lincoln County (east)
• Ellsworth County (southeast)
• Barton County (south)
• Rush County (southwest)
• Ellis County (west)

Major highways

The city of Russell is the junction of Interstate 70, a major east–west highway through the Midwestern United States, and U.S. Route 281, which begins at the Canada–US border in North Dakota and ends at the Mexico–US border in Texas. I-70 also runs through Gorham on the western end of the county and Dorrance on the eastern end. Hays is 27 miles (43 km) west of Russell and Salina is 67 miles (108 km) east of Russell.

Further along I-70, Russell is approximately 250 miles (400 km) west of Kansas City, Missouri and 360 miles (580 km) east of Denver, Colorado.

K-18, a major east–west state highway in northern Kansas, enters from Osborne County to the west and runs through Paradise before joining up with US 281 through Waldo. US 281 and K-18 split again at the city limits of Luray, and K-18 continues east through Lucas and into Lincoln County. US 281 heads north into Osborne County.

South of I-70, US 281 heads into Barton County and towards the city of Great Bend.

Demographics

As of the census^[9] of 2000, there were 7,370 people, 3,207 households, and 2,020 families residing in the county. The population density was 8 people per square mile (3.1 people/km²). There were 3,871 housing units at an average density of 4 per square mile (1.5/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.58% White, 0.50% Black or African American, 0.56% Native American, 0.33% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.27% from other races, and 0.75% from two or more races. 0.91% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 3,207 households, out of which 25.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.40% were married couples living together, 7.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.00% were non-families. 32.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.83.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 22.40% under the age of 18, 5.80% from 18 to 24, 23.30% from 25 to 44, 24.30% from 45 to 64, and 24.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 92.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $29,284, and the median income for a family was $40,355. Males had a median income of $25,916 versus $17,957 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,073. About 9.10% of families and 12.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.80% of those under age 18 and 8.50% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Presidential elections