Ripton is a fictitious town in
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. In 1985
Hugh Davis brother of
Hester A. Davis
Hester A. Davis (1930-2014) was an American archaeologist. Arkansas' first State Archaeologist, she was instrumental in creating national public policy and conservancy standards for cultural preservation as well as developing professional and eth ...
and a professor at the
University of Massachusetts Amherst
The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, it ...
, along with George "Gige" Darey, a local selectman, sought to demonstrate and protest the ignorance of the state
bureaucracy
The term bureaucracy () refers to a body of non-elected governing officials as well as to an administrative policy-making group. Historically, a bureaucracy was a government administration managed by departments staffed with non-elected offi ...
in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
of the rural portions of the Commonwealth. To do so, he invented the town of Ripton, supposedly founded in 1767. He then proceeded to apply for various
grants
Grant or Grants may refer to:
Places
*Grant County (disambiguation)
Australia
* Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia
United Kingdom
*Castle Grant
United States
* Grant, Alabama
*Grant, Inyo County, C ...
and other official assistance, and the town was allotted funds in the state budget. Several checks were issued, and deposited in an
escrow account
An escrow is a contractual arrangement in which a third party (the stakeholder or escrow agent) receives and disburses money or property for the primary transacting parties, with the disbursement dependent on conditions agreed to by the transacti ...
, before the
hoax
A hoax is a widely publicized falsehood so fashioned as to invite reflexive, unthinking acceptance by the greatest number of people of the most varied social identities and of the highest possible social pretensions to gull its victims into pu ...
was uncovered. The funds were returned and the matter dropped.
In 1985, self-appointed representatives of the town of Ripton contacted the
U.S. Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
and invited them to situate antennas for a post-
nuclear war
Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare, is a theoretical military conflict or prepared political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons are weapons of mass destruction; in contrast to conventional warfare, nuclear w ...
communication system in their town. Robbins Phillips, chairman of the Board of Selectmen of Ripton, stated that the antennas would make good nesting places for eagles.
Some signposts in the western portion of Massachusetts still contain "directions" to Ripton. Lawmakers in western Massachusetts have continued to humorously reference the incident in proposed state budgets.
References
External links
Signpostin the center of Shutesbury, Massachusetts showing the distance to "Ripton."
web site.
Massachusetts culture
Phantom geographical features
Hoaxes in the United States
20th-century hoaxes
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