Electricity Rates in Russia, OH

History of Russia

Russia was founded by Lewis Phillips, who purchased and plotted the land where the village now sits. Phillips' house, built in 1853, was the first house in Russia; other settlers followed by the late 1850s. Phillips was also the first businessman in the village, opening a grocery store in 1853. Later settlers soon founded a dry goods store and multiple sawmills; Russia's economy was once heavily dependent on its sawmills. Among the earliest settlers were French-speaking Swiss who had served under Napoléon Bonaparte during the French invasion of Russia in 1812. According to tradition, the village's name commemorates a battle these veterans had fought in Russia.Russia was established in an area that was already predominantly French. In the early part of the nineteenth century, a large number of emigrants from Alsace, Lorraine, and other parts of France settled in southwestern Shelby County and the adjacent portions of northeastern Darke County. Besides Russia, these immigrants founded the communities of Frenchtown and Versailles. By the middle of the 1850s, the heavily Roman Catholic population had grown to the point that multiple parishes were established in the area. A log church was built and dedicated to Saint Remigius, the patron saint of France, and Mass was first celebrated there on June 15, 1854. The congregation soon outgrew its building and constructed a new brick church; when it became too small, a larger brick church was constructed and completed in 1892.

Russia by the Numbers

Population

1,862

Median Age

36.2 yrs

Median Household Income

$85,000/yr

Median Home Value

$263,900

Homeownership Rate

85%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates (2023)