September 2011.............
Russell: In 1865 the Butterfield Overland Dispatch established a short-lived station namen Fossil Creek Station along its route from Atchison, Kansas to Denver near the site of the modern Russell. In 1867 the Kansas Pacific Railway reached the area and built its own station, also named Fossil Creek, north of the Butterfield Station and in the same year Russell County was formed. In 1871 colonists from Wisconsin established a settlement and renaimed it Russell. The first discovery of oil was in 1923 when a well was drilled west of Russell. An oil boom lasted through the 1930's and there are still many active wells in the area. The town is located in Central Kansas, on I-70 in a setting of rolling hills with two rivers running through and is on the "Amazing 100 miles" which runs from Salina, KS to Hays KS.
Many buildings in Russell are made of the native sandstone, below right is the Fossil Station Museum. We attended a Newmar (maker of our motor coach) rally in Russell and toured many of the historic buildings including the museum, the Gernon House (not pictured), the Hey Oliver House (not pictured), the Dined Cultural Center and the oil patch museum. The Russell Historical Society arranged tours for us of many of the historic sites.
Pictures below is the Dream Theater, Russell's original one-screen theater, built in 1949. It has been restored, is run by volunteers and has recently been fitted with 3-D capabilities. We were given a tour of the theater, and watched 3-D trailers.
September 2011.............
Rock Post Scenic Byway: The byway is eighteen miles long and runs along Kansas Highway 232 from Wilson to Lucas. It is bordered by I-70 on the South and K-18 on the north. It winds through fields, pastures, prairie and past Lake Wildon. Pioneers solved their fencing problems on the largely treeless plains by quarrying and then shaping limestone slabs.The stone fence posts for which the byway was named remain as functional today as they were when erected.
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