Russell’s Store

In 2009 the MARK Project, with funding assistance from the O’Connor Foundation, embarked on a community driven feasibility study and long term plan for the Russell’s Store building in Bovina. Russell’s is an anchor historic structure on Bovina’s Main Street and has housed a General Store since 1919, when Cecil Russell bought the building. The date of construction of the structure is not clear. Some information indicates it could have been as early as 1823 but other information indicates perhaps 1870. Upon the death of Marjorie Russell, the family-owned operation was deeded first to the United Presbyterian Church in 1996 and then passed along to the Bovina Historical Society in 2001. The store is currently leased to Beatriz Sohni but the additional space in the building and overall evaluation of the structure remains an uncertainty. MARK held it’s first community forum on Saturday June 6, with over 50 townspeople in attendance. MARK will continue to develop all the necessary components of a long term plan to ensure the sustainability of this community jewel.