Russell county, Kansas, is the heart of the heartland. Settled in 1871 by a colony of Volga Germans from Ripon, Wisconsin, the area that would become Russell county attracted homesteaders from as far as Russia, Poland, and Germany. The county was the hub for farming, livestock, and eventually oil and was served by stagecoaches, the railroad, and the interstate highway system. The city of Russell, with a population that has never surpassed 7,000, was the childhood home for two US senators--Bob Dole and Arden Specter. The county is best known as the home of Wilson Lake ( the renowned for the clarity of its water), for its buildings and fences made of native limestone, and for the hearty breed of people who continue to make this their home.--Publisher.