Russell Township’s History is One for the Books

January 23, 2014

Knowing the history of your community helps to strengthen the bond most people have with it.

At least, that’s what Russell Historical Society member Christine Livers believes.

In her Jan. 14 presentation to the Geauga County Genealogical Society, she gave an overview to about 30 attendees, drawing upon the book “A Pictorial History of Russell Township,” which she co-wrote with other historical society members and with interested community members.

“It’s important to know what’s happened and where you’ve come from as individuals and as a community,” she said. “A community is like a family. A community that knows its own history is stronger and more cohesive. People take more pride in it and will continue to take care of it in the years to come.”

For Livers, Russell is an adopted community. She moved there in the 1970s from Michigan when she was in her 30s, however, she became politically active after attending a public meeting the county held for a sewer plant proposed for the land where the West Geauga Commons Park is now located.

She went on to serve as a Russell Township trustee from 1982 to 2006.

“Every family is unique and every community is unique,” she said.

Livers’ presentation highlighted turning points in the nation’s history as they affected Russell.

Although the township was not established until 1927 — the last one to be designated in Geauga County — the community celebrated its centennial in 1918, according to the book.

That’s when founding family Gideon and Jemima Russell settled there.

Livers said it was the freak summer of 1816 with winter weather and 2-foot-deep snows in June that convinced the settlers in the Northeastern states to pack up and move west toward the setting sun.

The weather was the result of a large volcanic eruption in Java in which the particulate blocked the sun from the earth, Livers explained.

“‘It was 1816 and we froze to death,’ was their motto,” she said. “They were starving with just potatoes and some root vegetables left and no hope of growing a new crop that summer.”

Other colorful stories included rattlesnake roundups and the Squirrel Hunter’s Brigade in the 1860s, which was a group of local men who took their hunting rifles to Cincinnati in case the Confederate Army decided to invade the state from the Ohio River.

“I’m sure they shot at more squirrels than Confederate troops,” she said.

Although the Civil War did not directly impact the area, Livers said the controversial topic of slavery did.

“The reason we had Briar Hill Church up on the hill and Riverview Church down below was due to a difference of opinion on slavery,” she said. “I’m not sure which group stood for which side, but it was enough to split the congregation in two.”

The single most influential change to Russell was transportation in the 1900s, first with the Interurban Railroad and then with the automobile, she said.

“Russell was a farming community,” Livers said. “With transportation, farmers could ship their fresh milk west to Cleveland, and people could live in Russell and commute to work in the city. With the advent of transportation, the population grew as a suburban bedroom community.”

A 1925, controversy over school consolidation reshaped the community, with the southern portion splitting off to form South Russell, according to the book.

It reported there were nine one-room schools throughout the township.

“The parents living closer to Chagrin Falls wanted their children to attend school there,” Livers said. “Some accounts said at night, you could see a trail of hand-carried lanterns, as people met out on the roads to plan their future schools.”

Another hallmark that shaped the community was the 1970s debate over sewers.

Livers said a group of businessmen living in Russell opposed sewers and high impact development.

They hired an aerial photographer to do a survey by air of the environmental capability of the land to accommodate septic systems. It tied in with the ecology movement of the day and won out over city water and sewers.

“As a result, Russell has kept its semi-rural character to this day,” she said. “Otherwise, we might look very different today.”

A limited number of copies of the 288-page hardcover book are available at a cost of about $50. Contact Livers at 440-338-1561.