Ernesto Nava, son of the Mexican revolutionary leader Pancho Villa, lived in Russell City[5] and was one of the last residents to leave.

[3] The town's largest growth period came during and after the war, with significant numbers of African Americans moving there from the South.

[2][3][6] After Alameda County declined to annex Russell City and provide sanitation and fire services, Hayward declared the community blighted in the late 1950s, when it occupied 12 square blocks and had approximately 1,400 residents.

In the early 1960s, the city began purchasing properties and there was a spate of arson fires.

[3][6] A mural at A Street and Maple Court in Hayward and markers near the shoreline commemorate Russell City.