Russell was a real estate investor, banker, and a dealer in dry goods.

Washington Square, located across the street, was donated by the family to the City of Waterloo in 1871.

The house is made up of a two-story brick main block with a smaller 1½-story wing.

It features a tall narrow windows, Corinthian columns on the porches, bracketed eaves, and hipped roof capped with a belvedere.

This article about a property in Black Hawk County, Iowa on the National Register of Historic Places is a stub.