Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
2 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Robert Frost Farm, a National Historic Landmark. Below: maps from 1902 on and the census since 1810.
Ripton dates its founding to 1781 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1810.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Ripton’s history is told.
Lost two-thirds of its people between 1880 and 1960, then grew 5-fold.
22 censuses, 1810–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Ripton’s Wikipedia page.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Ripton. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Ripton.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Ripton yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Ripton is a town in Addison County, Vermont, United States. The population was 739 at the 2020 census.
Ripton was established in 1781. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 588 to 739 (+26%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Passages that mention Ripton, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The town of Middlebury is bounded at the present time as follows : On the north by New Haven and Bristol ; on the east by Ripton ; on the south by Salisbury, and on the west by Weybridge and Cornwall. The surface of the town is, since the setting off to the town of Ripton of a large part of the eastern mountainous tract,1 either level, rolling or moderately hilly, except the portion which lies along the western slopes and ridges of the mountains ; much of this latter is steep and almost unfit for tillage ; some of it is good for pasturage and small portions of it for cultivation. The lands lying along Otter Creek
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Ripton, history of the town of, 590. churches of, 594. early settlements of, 591.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
2017Autumn along the Robbins Branch creek, a tributary of…
2017A field of high grasses near Ripton, Vermont
2014Abbey Pond
2014Abbey Pond
2014Abbey Pond
2011Jane Beck in Ripton church
2011Jane Beck in Ripton church (cropped)
2011Best Dog in
2008FEMA - 37472 - Disasters officials inspecting road da…
2004Ripton vt highlight
2004Ripton Community HouseThe country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Ripton’s post office has been open since 1830. Another post office, Breadloaf, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1781, according to Wikidata. Ripton’s post office opened in 1830, and the census of 1810 counted 15 people here.
Two places: the Robert Frost Farm (listed 1968) and the Ripton Community House (1973).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (9), the Library of Congress (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
★ Landmark