Russell's Grove, Iowa - A Hamilton County Settlement
By Martin E. Nass
Transcribed for the IAGenWeb Project by Janelle Martin, with permission of Martin "Ed" Nass.
Russell's Grove - This place was a stagecoach stop on the run from
Webster City to Fort Dodge, starting its run in 1855 and continuing
until the train arrived in 1869. The stage stopped at the farm home of
the Russell family. At first the run was only one day a week in good
weather, less often in bad. By 1860 it was running twice a week and,
after the train got as far west as Alden, the run was daily.
A map at the State Historical Library in Des Moines gives the location
as NE/NW Sec. 6-88-26 in Freedom Township. A post office was established
on June 19, 1872, with Eleazor Russell serving as postmaster. The life
of the post office was short; it was closed on April 28, 1873.
The name comes from a grove of trees on the E. Russell farm. It was a
common way to name settlements in that day, as evidenced by Lakin's
Grove, Bach Grove, Rose Grove, Skunk Grove, Poplar Grove, and Poland's
Grove.
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