Robert Edwin Russ was a planter

Plantations in the American South

Plantations were an important aspect of the history of the American South, particularly the antebellum .-Planter :The owner of a plantation was called a planter...

 and civic leader who founded Ruston

Ruston, Louisiana

Ruston is a city in and the parish seat of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 20,546 at the 2000 census. Ruston is near the eastern border of the Ark-La-Tex and is the home of Louisiana Tech University. Its economy caters to its college population...

, the parish seat of Lincoln Parish

Lincoln Parish, Louisiana

Lincoln Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Ruston. In 2004, its population was estimated to be 42,382...

 in north Louisiana

Louisiana

Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

.

Early life

The son of Robert Russ and the former Sarah Gillam Hodges, Russ was born in Holmes Valley in Washington County

Washington County, Florida

Washington County is a county located in the state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 20,973. The U.S. Census Bureau 2005 estimate for the county was 22,299. Its county seat is Chipley, Florida...

, in the Florida Panhandle

Florida Panhandle

The Florida Panhandle, an informal, unofficial term for the northwestern part of Florida, is a strip of land roughly 200 miles long and 50 to 100 miles wide , lying between Alabama on the north and the west, Georgia also on the north, and the Gulf of Mexico to the south. Its eastern boundary is...

. He attended school in Maury County (Columbia

Columbia, Tennessee

Columbia is a city in Maury County, Tennessee, United States. The 2008 population was 34,402 according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates. It is the county seat of Maury County....

), Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

. He migrated with his mother and stepfather, Sion D. Smith, to Henry County

Henry County, Alabama

Henry County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. Its name is in honor of Patrick Henry, famous orator and Governor of Virginia. As of 2010, its population was 17,302...

 (Dothan

Dothan, Alabama

Dothan is a city located in the southeastern corner of the US state of Alabama, situated approximately west of the Georgia state line and north of Florida. It is the seat of Houston County, with portions extending into nearby Dale County and Henry County...

), Alabama

Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...

, Hinds County

Hinds County, Mississippi

As of the census of 2000, there were 250,800 people, 91,030 households, and 62,355 families residing in the county. The population density was 288 people per square mile . There were 100,287 housing units at an average density of 115 per square mile...

 (Jackson

Jackson, Mississippi

Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...

), Mississippi

Mississippi

Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...

, and in 1852 to Jackson Parish

Jackson Parish, Louisiana

Jackson Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish was formed in 1845 from parts of Claiborne, Ouachita, and Union Parishes. In 2010, its population was 16,274. The parish seat is Jonesboro...

 (Jonesboro

Jonesboro, Louisiana

Jonesboro is a town in and the parish seat of Jackson Parish in the northern portion of the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population was 3,914 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Ruston Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...

) south of Ruston. In 1855, he married the former Mary Elizabeth Randle, and the couple had thirteen children.

Landowner

In 1873, Russ purchased land in Lincoln Parish, which was established after the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. With the news that the Vicksburg, Shreveport & Pacific Railroad would be built in the vicinity, Russ was persuaded to donate more than 600 acres of his land for a town to be built around the depot. "Russ Town" opened in 1883, with lots selling for $375 each. So many people flocked to the new town that a year later, in 1884, it was became the site for the Lincoln Parish seat of government.

Russ was active in the Democratic Party

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 and served as sheriff

Sheriff

A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....

 of Lincoln Parish from 1877-1880. He was a trustee of Ruston College, which in 1894 became the future Louisiana Tech University

Louisiana Tech University

Louisiana Tech University, often referred to as Louisiana Tech, LA Tech, or Tech, is a coeducational public research university located in Ruston, Louisiana. Louisiana Tech is designated as a Tier 1 school in the national universities category by the 2012 U.S. News & World Report college rankings...

. He was a lay organizer of First Baptist

Baptist

Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...

Church in downtown Ruston. He is interred at the historic Greenwood Cemetery in Ruston.

The Robert E. Russ Award is given in Ruston to individuals cited for outstanding civic service. The 2009 winner was Leslie K. Guice, vice president for research and development at Louisiana Tech. Tommy Folk, a Ruston native, retired president of construction for T. L. James & Company, and chairman of the board of the Dixie Center for the Arts, won the award for 2008.