Russell Township is one of the sixteen
townships
A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries.
Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, C ...
of
Geauga County,
Ohio
Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...
, United States. As of the
2010 census the population was 5,188,
down from 5,529 at the 2000 census.
Geography
Located in the western part of the county, it borders the following townships and villages:
*
Chester Township - north
*
Munson Township - northeast corner
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Newbury Township - east
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Auburn Township - southeast corner
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Bainbridge Township - south
*
Chagrin Falls - southwest, south of Chagrin Falls Township
*
Chagrin Falls Township - southwest, north of Chagrin Falls
*
Moreland Hills - west, south of Hunting Valley
*
Hunting Valley - west, north of Moreland Hills
*
Gates Mills - northwest corner
Two villages are located in Russell Township: part of
Hunting Valley in the northwest, and
South Russell in the south.
Name and history
It is the only Russell Township statewide. Another name for the area is Novelty, from the name of the post office located, in the unincorporated community of
Novelty
Novelty (derived from Latin word ''novus'' for "new") is the quality of being new, or following from that, of being striking, original or unusual. Novelty may be the shared experience of a new cultural phenomenon or the subjective perception of an ...
, in the township.
The first five inhabitants — Gideon Russell and his family, who came in 1818 — settled on what today is
Chillicothe Road. In 1827 the township was named Russell, although it had been previously known as the West Woods by neighboring communities. In April of that year the people elected John Lowry, Clark Robinson, and Gideon Russell as their first township trustees. It was Robinson that created the first framed building and started the first store.
Economy
Russell is the home of
ASM International
ASM International is a Dutch headquartered multinational corporation that specializes in design, manufacturing, sales and service of semiconductor wafer processing equipment for the fabrication of semiconductor devices. ASM's products are use ...
, formerly known as the American Society for Metals, whose
headquarters
Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the to ...
is marked by a gigantic
geodesic dome
A geodesic dome is a hemispherical thin-shell structure (lattice-shell) based on a geodesic polyhedron. The triangular elements of the dome are structurally rigid and distribute the structural stress throughout the structure, making geodesic do ...
, visited by
Buckminster Fuller
Richard Buckminster Fuller (; July 12, 1895 – July 1, 1983) was an American architect, systems theorist, writer, designer, inventor, philosopher, and futurist. He styled his name as R. Buckminster Fuller in his writings, publishing ...
upon its completion.
Nearly all of the non-incorporated parts of the township are served in education by the West Geauga district. (South Russell village and a small part of the rest is covered by the Chagrin Falls district.) In private education, the Butler Campus of
Laurel School is on Fairmount Road (originally named "Fairmount Campus" for its location), which has a lodge, pavilion, tree house, residence, and adventure course.
Government
The township is governed by a three-member board of trustees, who are elected in November of odd-numbered years to a four-year term beginning on the following January 1. Two are elected in the year after the presidential election and one is elected in the year before it. There is also an elected township fiscal officer,
§503.24§505.01
an
§507.01
of the Ohio Revised Code
The ''Ohio Revised Code'' contains all current statutes of the Ohio General Assembly of a permanent and general nature, consolidated into provisions, titles, chapters and sections. However, the only official publication of the enactments of the Ge ...
. Accessed 4/30/2009. who serves a four-year term beginning on April 1 of the year after the election, which is held in November of the year before the presidential election. Vacancies in the fiscal officership or on the board of trustees are filled by the remaining trustees.
Transportation
Major roads include State Route 306 and State Route 87.
References
External links
Township websiteCounty website
{{authority control
Townships in Geauga County, Ohio
Populated places established in 1818
Lithuanian-American culture in Ohio
Townships in Ohio