Russwurm Memorial

The Phillips County Historical Quarterly remembers Dr. W. C. Russwurm as a doctor who kept treating people who could not pay. After practicing at Pillow Station, Latour and Barton, he moved to Helena in January 1895, married Florence Boone of Coldwater, Mississippi, that month, and later served on the city council, as president of the county medical society and for three terms as city physician. A neighbor recalled that he treated poor and Black patients, often at night, without charge. Around 1930 a car accident cost him an arm, and Mrs. Russwurm drove for him afterward.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Elaine Massacre Memorial — 0.2 mi
  A memorial dedicated in 2019 in Helena for the Black people killed by white mobs and troops in the 1919 Elaine Massacre, the deadliest racial confrontation in Arkansas history.
• Delta Cultural Center — 0.5 mi
  A state museum in downtown Helena where King Biscuit Time, the longest-running daily blues radio show, is broadcast live from the Visitors Center.
• Freedom Park — 1.1 mi
  An outdoor Delta Cultural Center site on the ground of a Civil War contraband camp, where thousands of people who had escaped slavery sheltered and men enlisted.
• Mississippi River State Park — 11 mi
  A state park and gateway to the St. Francis National Forest, where the river, Crowley's Ridge and the Delta meet, with a Trail of Tears site at the Mississippi and St. Francis confluence.

More markers nearby

• Fort Curtis — steps away
• Judge Jacob Trieber — steps away
• Seven Confederate Generals — 0.2 mi
• Fort Curtis, 1862-1867 — 0.2 mi