Russells Point

• Indian LakeBuilt 1860 · 5,104 acres

• The Tornado Warning Came Two Minutes Before the Tornado Touched Down

How Russells Point began

Russells Point sits on the south shore of Indian Lake in Logan County, on land held by a landowner named James Russell; a post office named for the place opened in 1913 and the lakeside settlement grew into a resort town. The lake itself was built in the 1850s as a canal-feeder reservoir on the former Lewistown Reservation, a tract of about 48 square miles created by the 1817 Treaty of Fort Meigs for Shawnee and Seneca people and given up under the Treaty of Lewistown (1829 and 1831). Russells Point's population was 1,619 in 2000 and 1,320 in 2020. On March 14, 2024, an EF-3 tornado struck the village, killing at least three people.

Incorporated late 1920s (post office established 1913), by named for landowner James Russell.

Where the name comes from

Named for the Russell family, whose homestead sat on the point of land that became the village. Wikipedia says the village and post office were named for James Russell, owner of the town site; the Logan County History Center says John Russell, born in 1847 to James and Amanda Russell, leased seven acres of government land there in October 1891 and sold it in 1894.

Before the town

The land under Indian Lake was the Lewistown Reservation. Quatawapea (Colonel Lewis) and his Shawnee followers founded the village of Lewistown in what is now Logan County about 1796; the 1817 Treaty of Fort Meigs (Maumee Rapids) created a reservation of about 48 square miles there, which the Shawnee shared with Seneca (Mingo) people living in the village. Quatawapea left for Arkansas in 1825 with about 255 Shawnees and a few Senecas and died in 1826. The Shawnee and Seneca who remained, about 300 people, gave up the reservation in the Treaty of Lewistown (signed August 3, 1829 and again July 20, 1831) in exchange for 60,000 acres west of the Mississippi. The state built the Lewistown Reservoir, now Indian Lake, on the land in the 1850s. No separate Native site inside Russells Point itself is recorded.

Nations recorded here: Shawnee, Mingo (Seneca-Cayuga).

• Lewistown Reservation (treaty) — tract including the present Indian Lake / Russells Point area, Logan County, 1817 (reservation created) to 1831 (ceded) (en.wikipedia.org)

Timeline

1. 1817 — The Treaty of Fort Meigs (Maumee Rapids) creates a Lewistown reservation of about 48 square miles in present Logan County, which Shawnee share with Senecas living in the village of Lewistown.
2. 1829-1831 — The Treaty of Lewistown is signed by Shawnee and Seneca members on August 3, 1829 and again on July 20, 1831; about 300 Indians give up the Lewistown Reservation in exchange for 60,000 acres west of the Mississippi River and a $6,000 advance on the sale of their Ohio lands.
3. 1850s — The State of Ohio built the Lewistown Reservoir, now Indian Lake, on the former reservation as a feeder reservoir for the Miami and Erie Canal.
4. 1888 — A photograph of a hunting and fishing camp at the Lewistown Reservoir at the point is dated 1888 in the Logan County History Center's account of Russells Point.
5. 1891-10 — John Russell leases seven acres of government land at the point from the state's Bureau of Public Works for $48 a year over fifteen years.
6. 1894 — Russell ends his lease and sells the land to James A. Marshall and Elmer McLaughlin; the family moves to a farm near Ada.
7. 1913 — A post office named Russells Point began operating, named for landowner James Russell; the lakeside village grew as an Indian Lake resort town.
8. 1920s — The community incorporates as a village in the late 1920s.
9. 1924-05-29 — Pappy Wilgus opens Sandy Beach Amusement Park to the public, later promoted as the Atlantic City of the West, on the lakefront.
10. 1931 — A national endurance dance marathon at the Minnewawa dance hall lasts 80 days and 2 hours.
11. 1935 — A fire destroys much of the park's wooden structures, including the Minnewawa Dance Hall; the Moonlight Terrace, an Art Deco bandshell with an open-air dance floor, replaces the hall.
12. 1953 — More than 100,000 people attend the Ohio Sesquicentennial celebration at Indian Lake.
13. 1961-07-04 — A riot involving nearly 500 youths breaks out at Russells Point bars and spreads to the park area.
14. 1967 — The park is combined and renamed Indian Lake Playland; it closes in 1975 and its property is razed in 1982.
15. 2000 — Village population reached its recorded peak of 1,619 residents.
16. 2014-08-23 — The renovated Sandy Beach footbridge between the two sides of the old park reopens to the public.
17. 2020 — The census counts 1,320 people in Russells Point, down from 1,619 in 2000.
18. March 14, 2024 — An EF-3 tornado struck Russells Point around 7:51 p.m., killing at least three people and severely damaging homes and businesses across the village.

Stories

A reservation becomes a resort

Before it was a lake, the ground under Indian Lake was the Lewistown Reservation. Quatawapea, the Shawnee leader known to Americans as Colonel Lewis, and his followers founded Lewistown in what is now Logan County about 1796. The 1817 Treaty of Fort Meigs created a reservation of about 48 square miles there, which the Shawnee shared with Senecas living in the village. Quatawapea left for Arkansas in 1825 with about 255 Shawnees and a few Senecas and died there in 1826. The remaining Shawnee and Seneca, about 300 people, gave up the reservation in the Treaty of Lewistown, signed in 1829 and again in 1831, for 60,000 acres west of the Mississippi. In the 1850s the state flooded the lowland as the Lewistown Reservoir to feed the Sidney Feeder of the Miami and Erie Canal, and the reservoir later became Indian Lake. A post office named Russells Point opened in 1913 on land once owned by James Russell.

The 2024 tornado

On the evening of March 14, 2024, a tornado struck Russells Point at about 7:51 p.m. The National Weather Service later rated it EF-3. At least three people were killed.

The Atlantic City of the West

Pappy Wilgus opened Sandy Beach Amusement Park on the point of land at Indian Lake on May 29, 1924, and the park was promoted as the Atlantic City of the West. In 1931 the Minnewawa dance hall held a National Endurance Dance Marathon that lasted 80 days and 2 hours. A fire in 1935 destroyed much of the park's wooden structures; the Moonlight Terrace, an Art Deco bandshell with an open-air dance floor, replaced the dance hall. More than 100,000 people attended the Ohio Sesquicentennial celebration at Indian Lake in 1953, and a riot involving nearly 500 youths broke out on the evening of July 4, 1961. The park was renamed Indian Lake Playland in 1967, closed in 1975 and was razed in 1982; the renovated footbridge that joined its two sides reopened on August 23, 2014.

Photographs

Local history sources: en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · commons.wikimedia.org · russellspoint-oh.gov · loganhistory.org · rcdb.com · en.wikipedia.org · treaties.okstate.edu

Groundwater wells (3 wells) The water here

• Russells Point Village100% of residentsGroundwater wells (3 wells)

Fire and EMS stations (1)

Police stations (1)

Spills reported since 2021 (2)

Ballot issues

Elections for office

Winners in bold. Results from the county board of elections' official canvass unless marked.

Auditor of State record

• Fiscal emergency: declared 2005-05-12, released 2007-12-18. source
• Financial Audit, 2025, released 2026-06-25
• Financial Audit, 2024, released 2026-01-13
• Agreed Upon Procedures, 2022 to 2023, released 2024-08-01

Source: Ohio EPA eDocument portal (edocpub.epa.ohio.gov), indexed 2026-10-14. Facilities are placed on the map from Ohio EPA's own map layers, EPA's Facility Registry, coordinates written in the filings, or a geocoded street address. A permit filed under a private person's name (most are household septic systems) is counted but never named, placed or linked; licenses for individual workers and open-burning notices are left out entirely.

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