Russell is a

police village A police village was a form of municipal government that was used in the province of Ontario, Canada in the early 19th century if the finances or the population of an area did not permit the creation of a village. Formation In the early 19th Centu ...

that is part of Russell Township in the

United Counties of Prescott and Russell The United Counties of Prescott and Russell (french: Comtés unis de Prescott et Russell) are consolidated counties located in the Canadian province of Ontario. Its county seat is L'Orignal. It was created as a result of a merger between Ru ...

in Eastern Ontario, Canada. It is located immediately east of

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the c ...

, the city limits of which are just over 2km west of Russell. Ottawa's downtown core is about 40km (25mi) northwest of Russell. The 2016 Census stated that the community had a population of 4,464, making it the second largest community in the township of Russell (Russell's neighbour to the east, Embrun, is the largest community in Russell Township). The vast majority of its residents work in the city of Ottawa, making Russell a true

bedroom community A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

for commuters to

. Agriculture is the main industry in and immediately around the village. The town produces a large number of hockey prospects for development leagues such as the OHL, OJHL, and NCJHL. The most notable contributions are to the Embrun Panthers Jr. C hockey team. The town has a significant number of schools for its size – English Catholic Elementary (Mother Teresa Catholic School) and Secondary (St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic High School), English Public Elementary and Secondary ( Russell High School) and French Elementary school (École Saint-Joseph

Russell also has a summer

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...

, a skating arena, a

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vi ...

, an

all-weather running track An all-weather running track is a rubberized, artificial running surface for track and field athletics. It provides a consistent surface for competitors to test their athletic ability unencumbered by adverse weather conditions. Historically, v ...

and a

curling Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns slidi ...

rink. The village also has its firehall on the south end. Russell is policed by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP). The Russell Watch Program is a community watch where volunteers patrol the village as a second set of eyes and ears for the OPP. Patrols are mostly made during the evening and into the late night. Commercial, recreational, and residential areas are all monitored frequently after dusk. The village has practicing

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solicit ...

doctor Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

dentist A dentist, also known as a dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry (the diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the oral cavity and other aspects of the craniofacial c ...

s and other professionals. It also has

grocery store A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday U.S. usage, however, "grocery store" is a synonym for supermarket, a ...

pharmacy Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medication, medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it ...

, garage, restaurants and many little shops. The

Castor River Castor River may refer to: *Castor River (Ontario), Canada * Rivière au Castor, Quebec, Canada *Castor River (Missouri) The Castor River is divided into the Upper Castor River and the Lower Castor River by the Headwater Diversion Channel. The U ...

(translated from French means "Beaver") runs through the town in summer and offers a flat trail for

snowmobile A snowmobile, also known as a Ski-Doo, snowmachine, sled, motor sled, motor sledge, skimobile, or snow scooter, is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. It is designed to be operated on snow and ice and does not ...

s during the winter. The village has now passed a local bylaw requiring all commercial signage to be bilingual. This bylaw is being challenged by many, in one case in court. Russell is a predominantly English-speaking community, although with a sizeable French-speaking minority. 87% of the community speaks English at home, while 11% speak French at home. The travel time to the nearest built-up areas of Ottawa is typically 20–25 minutes. In the rush hour it can take up to one hour to reach

downtown Ottawa Downtown Ottawa is the central area of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is sometimes referred to as the Central Business District and contains Ottawa's financial district. It is bordered by the Ottawa River to the north, the Rideau Canal to the east, ...

, and much more to reach Ottawa boroughs west of the core zone. In terms of ethnic origin, the people of Russell are mainly of

Anglo-Celtic Anglo-Celtic people are descended primarily from British and Irish people. The concept is mainly relevant outside of Great Britain and Ireland, particularly in Australia, but is also used in Canada, the United States, New Zealand and South Africa, ...

descent, although there are significant populations of

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

descent.

References

{{PrescottRussell Communities in Russell, Ontario