In 1853, Joel Russell, a former 49er, staked a claim on what he thought was public land in the new state of California. In fact, the area belonged to Francisco Soto, a Mexican rancher. In the 1840s Don Soto had received a land grant of 6,688 acres from the Mexican government which had won claim to Alta California and its independence from Spain in 1821. The Soto ranch, known as Rancho San Lorenzo Baja, comprised land along the shoreline south of the San Lorenzo Creek. Its eastern border was Rancho San Lorenzo Alta owned by Soto's brother-in-law Guillermo Castro. Francisco died in the early 1850s and his wife Barbara (Guillermo's sister) too over management of the rancho.
Like many other Californios struggling to maintain their property under the United States government, Don Castro disputed Russell's claim on behave of his widowed sister Barbara. In 1856, the US Land Commission judged that the Francisco Soto land grant was legitimate. But the legal battle and changes in the area must have taken their toll on Barbara like they did on so many other Californios. So Joel Russell was able to purchase the land that he had squatted on. He sold off 700 acres to several Danish immigrant families and kept holdings of 320 for himself. Russell raised hay and grain on his land for 30 year as the community grew around him.
Most of the early settlers of the Russell City area took to farming, particularly grains and fruit orchards. Since most were of Danish and Scandinavian ancestry, the district was often referred to as Little Copenhagen.
After the San Francisco earthquake in 1906, real estate promoters sought to woo the inhabitants of the shaky city to the East Bay (perhaps ignoring the presence of the Hayward Fault which was discovered after the 1868 earthquake here). In 1907 some of these promoters convinced the Russell family and others to sell their land to a syndicate that would create the ideal community. One thousand acres were secured and the boom was on. By 1908 over 700 lots had been sold from $50 - $300 a lot. Palm trees were planted to shade the streets and sidewalks were constructed. The East Shore and Suburban Realty Company printed elaborate brochures with a large map showing the expected development. It was planned to be largest city in the East Bay.
But in 1910 a depression hit the state and the development faded. The streets went unpaved and there was no water or sewage system built. The people who owned plots were forced to build their own homes and the community survived with little help from local government. By the Great Depression, the water and sewer problems began to take their toll and middle class families moved out. People with less means were able to move in.
East Bay industrial giants such as Kaiser Shipyard and Todd Shipyard were offering employment to thousands. Many people of all backgrounds from the American South and Mexican Americans from Southern California settled in Russell City.
The people of Russell City worked in construction, at the canneries, in the shipyards, and at the sugar mills. In the late 1940s Russell City had a population of over 1,200 residents and its elementary school had an attendance of over 300 students.
But Russell City did not receive attention from the government. It was left to fend for itself. By the 1950s, most landowners had moved out leaving their homes behind, unable to sell. In 1963, it was decided that the area would be demolished and redeveloped. The Russell City Redevelopment Agency was created by Alameda County to undertake the massive project. The agency began to purchase the properties and said that residents were offered "fair marked" value for their homes, but many argued it was not fair.
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| Signs were posted to alert neighbors to a public hearing where it was announced that Russell City was to be demolished. |
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Some families did not want to sell. Suspicious fires caused the loss of several houses. Community members suspected arson by people not wanting to lose their houses to the government, and by the authorities themselves wanting the residents out. But within two years all 205 families and 33 single people had been relocated to other housing in Hayward's Kelly Hill neighborhood, to Oakland, and even as far away as the Central Valley.
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| Russell City Reunion, 2005
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In January 1963, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors accepted a $2.45 million offer from the City of Hayward for the cleared acreage from an industrial park developer and the City annexed the property into the city limits.
All that remains of Russell City are a few scattered buildings - some with the name Russell City, some with no name. But every year the Nava family holds an annual Russell City family reunion held at Kennedy Park. In 2004, Lillian Litzy held the first annual Juneteenth Celebration at The First Russell City Baptist Church, and Ronnie Steward organizes the Russell City Blues Festival held each year in Hayward. And last but not least is the Eden Cemetery where many of the families from Russell city are buried. Widow of former Russell City resident Robert Stone, Mrs. Stone says "there is much history in that place."
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