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History of Ripley, West Virginia, USA
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(Jackson Court House)
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Ripley was originally owned and settled by William, John, and Lewis Rodgers. They received a grant of 400 acres in 1768 where "Sycamore Creek joins Big Mill Creek" (the current site of Ripley). The land was later sold to Jacob (and Ann) Starcher, most probably in 1803. Jacob Starcher erected a grist mill in 1824 and laid out the town in 1830, naming it in honor of Harry Ripley, a young minister who was to be married, but drowned in Big Mill Creek, about one and a half miles north of the town, shortly before the ceremony took place.
The town was chartered by the Virginia General Assembly in 1832.
The post office was established in 1832 with the name Jackson Court House. The name was shortened in 1893 to Jackson. In 1897, the name became Ripley.
wikipedia
There is MUCH more to discover about Ripley, West Virginia, USA. Read on!
History, News and Stories of Ripley, West Virginia, USA

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1824 - (Ripley, WV) - Jacob Starcher erected a grist mill in 1824.
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1832 - (Ripley, WV) - The town's post office was established January 31, 1832, and was named Jackson Courthouse. In the years that followed the town was referred to both as Jackson Courthouse and Ripley.
www.cityofripley.org/ history.html
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1832 - (Ripley, WV) - On December 5, 1832, Jacob Starcher petitioned the General Assembly to give the town a name and grant a charter to govern it.
The request was granted fourteen days later on December 19, 1832.
www.cityofripley.org/ history.html
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1852 - Ripley, WV incorporated
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1854 - Ripley
Ripley, a village, capital of Jackson co., Virginia, on Mill creek, 350 miles W. N. W. from Richmond. Population, about 200.
A New and Complete Gazetteer of the United States: Giving a Full and Comprehensive Review of the Present Condition, Industry, and Resources of the American Confederacy ... Thomas Baldwin (of Philadelphia.) Joseph Thomas January 1, 1854 Philadelphia : Lippincott, Grambo & Company 1854.
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During the Civil War, Ripley remained under control of the Union except for a brief incursion by Confederate General Albert G. Jenkins in September 1862.
wikipedia.org
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1895 - Ripley / Jackson Court-House
Jackson Court-House, or Rip'ley, a post-village, capital of Jackson co., W. Va., on Mill Creek, about 33 miles N. by W. of Charleston, and 11 miles... Read MORE...
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The last public hanging in West Virginia took place in Ripley in 1897, when John Morgan was hanged for murder; the spectacle prompted the West Virginia Legislature to ban public executions soon after.
wikipedia.org
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1897 - (Ripley, WV) - On September 15, 1897 the name of the post office was changed to Ripley.
www.cityofripley.org/ history.html
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1906
Ripley, a banking post-town, capital of Jackson co., W.Va., on the Ohio River R., 32 miles N. by W. of Charles ton. Pop. in 1900, 579.
Lippincott's New Gazetteer: A Complete Pronouncing Gazetteer Or Geographical Dictionary of the World, Containing the Most Recent and Authentic Information Respecting the Countries, Cities, Towns ... in Every Portion of the Globe Publisher J.B. Lippincott Company, 1906
Ripley, West Virginia, USA Genealogy
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