Russell Springs, the county seat of Logan county, is an incorporated city of the third class, centrally located on the Smoky Hill river, 10 miles south of Winona on the Union Pacific R. R., the nearest railroad station. It has a bank, a weekly newspaper (the Leader), schools and churches, a fine court-house, a number of retail establishments, and a money order postoffice. The Garden City, Gulf & Northern R. R., which has been built as far north as Scott City, is in process of construction from that place to Russell Springs. When it is completed the town may realize some of the high hopes entertained by the founders in 1887. The town was laid out in April of that year. The town company spent a great deal of money in improvements among which was a waterworks system, an artificial lake stocked with fish and fowl, a $25,000 court-house and a $10,000 school house. In the election of Dec. 22, 1887, for county seat, Russell Springs won by 276 votes. Land was valuable at that time, the Eastern capitalists having loans to the amount of $1,000,000 on Logan county real estate. The next year the boom subsided, lots which had sold for from $250 up were not considered by the owners to be worth the taxes, and later sold for 10 apiece. The town lost nearly all of its population, the settlers for miles around left and the only thing which kept a single person in the town was the fact that it was the county seat. In 1910 the population was 82. Then came the news that the railroad was to be built. No one had any faith in the report until the railroad company bought 3,000 lots and paid $7,000 for them. The town then began to experience a second boom, which will in all probability prove to be permanent.