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History · Ripley

Ripley’s post office opened in 1920, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 2 old photos and papers and maps from 1952 on.

1920first post office
0on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Ripley’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Ripley began

When was Ripley founded?

1920

The Ripley post office opened in 1920, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 538106 years
Founding year: the first Ripley post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Ripley’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Ripley’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Ripley’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewFARM WORKERS SHOULDER TOOLS AT END OF D…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Ripley came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Ripley.

Read it all →

Ripley was established in 1920 when the California Southern Railroad (unrelated to the railroad linking Barstow and San Diego) was extended from Blythe. The townsite was named to dedicate former Santa Fe Railway president Edward Payson Ripley. The town aimed to be a resort location until it was damaged by a flood that swept part of the valley in 1922. Today, a water tower remains as a landmark in town.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Ripley, 1920 to 1972

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 20th century
  2. 1920Post officeThe Ripley post office opens
  3. 1952On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1972In the archiveFARM WORKERS SHOULDER TOOLS AT END OF DAY NEAR RIPLEY, IN THE FERTILE PALO VERDE VALLEY O…
By decade

Ripley, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1970s2 items
FARM WORKERS SHOULDER TOOLS AT END OF DAY NEAR RIPLEY, IN THE FERTILE PALO VERDE VALLEY OF THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER REG…1972FARM WORKERS SHOULDER TOOLS AT END OF DAY NEAR RIPLEY…FARM YOUNGSTERS PLAYING AT SUNSET NEAR THEIR HOME IN1972FARM YOUNGSTERS PLAYING AT SUNSET NEAR THEIR HOME IN
1980s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
On the map

Ripley on the map, 1952 to 1970

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Ripley. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Ripley on the 1952 USGS mapRipley on the 1970 USGS map1952Ripley sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Ripley.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

FARM WORKERS SHOULDER TOOLS AT END OF DAY NEAR RIPLEY, IN THE FERTILE PALO VERDE VALLEY OF THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER REG…
Retake this viewFARM WORKERS SHOULDER TOOLS AT END OF DAY NEAR RIPLEY, IN THE FERTILE PALO VERDE VALLEY OF THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER REG…, 1972

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Ripley’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Ripley

Nobody well known was born in Ripley itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Gary GoddardAmerican film producer and director · b. 1954
T
Tony EasonAmerican football player · b. 1959
A
Andrew CancioMexican-American boxer · b. 1988
F
Frankie ErvinMusical artist · b. 1926

Questions about Ripley’s history

What year was Ripley founded?

The Ripley post office opened in 1920, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.