Editing Ripley, West Virginia (section)

==History==
[[File:JacksonCountyWVCourthouse.jpg|thumb|left|Jackson County Courthouse in 2012]]
Ripley was originally owned and settled by William, John, and Lewis Rodgers. They received a grant of {{convert|400|acre|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.<ref name="OBrienJCHS">O'Brien, Winnifred E. 1979. ''Early Settlers and their Contributions to Jackson County and its County Seat Ripley, West Virginia''. Ripley: Jackson County Public Library.<br>- Jackson County Historical Society. 1982. ''The Emergence of Jackson County and of Ripley, Its Seat of Justice''. Jackson County Historical Society: Ripley, West Virginia.</ref>

When Jackson County was formed in 1831, the residents of the county could not decide where to locate the county seat. The people who lived along the Ohio River near the Ravenswood settlement favored that location. The people who lived farther inland objected. The Virginia General Assembly appointed an independent commission to make the final decision which selected Ripley. In 1832, the Starchers donated {{convert|8|acre|m2}} of land to the county, {{convert|2|acre|m2}} for the location of the county courthouse and jail, and six for the general use of the new county (a public school and a cemetery were later located on the land). The town was chartered by the Virginia General Assembly in 1832.<ref name="OBrienJCHS"/>

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.<ref>"Postmaster Finder" at United States Postal Service. Retrieved 15 January 2017.</ref>

During the [[American Civil War]], Ripley remained under the control of the Union except for a brief incursion by the Confederate General [[Albert G. Jenkins]] in September 1862.

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.<ref>''West Virginia Blue Book''. This hanging is said to have taken place at the now located Ripley High School. [http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Educational/publications/pub.cfm Published annually] by the Clerk's Office of the [[West Virginia Senate]].<br>- {{cite book| last= Flesher Bolovan |first= Carolyn |editor= Ken Sullivan| title= The West Virginia Encyclopedia |year= 2006 |publisher= West Virginia Humanities Council |location=Charleston, West Virginia |isbn= 0-9778498-0-5 |pages= 618 |chapter=Ripley}}</ref>