Ripley dates to 1832, and 3 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 78% of U.S. towns · #28 of 61 in West Virginia. What drives it
Most of Ripley was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1967. 3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 110 buildings. Below: 11 old photos and papers, maps from 1907 on, and the census since 1870.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1832.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Ripley’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ripley is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #28 of 61 in West Virginia. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ripley’s overall grade.
West Virginia towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical West Virginia town has 29.6 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Ripley’s 371 sits above most of its state (82% of West Virginia towns have fewer) while its 114 historic buildings outnumber those of 90% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1832.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.4 points).
Founding year: Wikipedia (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Ripley’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Ripley was originally owned and settled by William, John, and Lewis Rodgers. They received a grant of 400 acres (1.6 km2) 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.
Passages that mention Ripley, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The slaughter of the Pfost-Greene family of Jackson County, W. Va.1897 · page 96Read the page →
Read the text
Judge David McComas then sentenced him to be taken by the Sheriff of Jackson County, from the jail, on the 10th day of May ensuing, to a scaffoM to be erected in or near the town of Ripley, and there hanged until dead. Later he was reprieved until July 12th. "during the period of his incarceration, pending his execution, he made a full confession of his crime, which, when published, covered nearly forty pages of a large pamphlet.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The slaughter of the Pfost-Greene family of Jackson County, W. Va.1897 · page 82Read the page →
Read the text
When Morgan escaped he went in the direction of his former home, two miles south of Ripley ; he took a horse belonging to A. S. Casto, from a stable near the highway ; he rode directly to his father's-in-law, about ten miles from Ripley, reaching there about 1:30 a. m. December 3, remaining there until about 4 o'clock a. m., securing while there a valise and one additional coat and vest, a cap, some apples and a supply of tobacco. He then remounted the horse he had taken and started in the
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.
Timeline
Ripley, 1832 to 1975
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
In 1832, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Ripley’s post office opened in 1832, and the census of 1870 counted 226 people here.
How does Ripley rank for history?
Ripley is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #28 of 61 in West Virginia. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Ripley?
Three places: the Armstrong House (listed 1980), the Clerc-Carson House (1992) and the Ripley Historic District (2004).
How old are the homes in Ripley?
7% of Ripley’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.4 points), against a typical 13% for a West Virginia town; the median home was built in 1967.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (11), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
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