When railroads were first built across Kansas in the 1860s, Plains Indians inhabited much of the central and western part of the state and resisted the incursion because they saw it as a threat to the buffalo herds that provided food, shelter, and clothing. Cheyennes, Arapahos, and other tribes frequently attacked railroad workers and tore up tracks in an effort to defend their lands. In May 1869, two miles west of here, a mounted party of Indians rushed from a deep ravine and attacked a railroad crew of seven. The workers raced to their handcar and pumped desperately for home while firing their rifles. Although no Indians are known to have died, two railroad workers were killed and four were wounded. When the railroad reached here in 1867, a construction camp and watering station called Fossil Station was established, and in 1871 the name was changed to Russell when a Wisconsin colony founded the town.