Ripley is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has t ...

in the westernmost part of Chautauqua County, New York. The population was 2,310 at the time of the 2020 census. The town was named after

Eleazer Wheelock Ripley Eleazer Wheelock Ripley (April 15, 1782 – March 2, 1839) was an American soldier and politician. He fought in the War of 1812, eventually rising to the rank of brigadier general, and later served as a U.S. Representative from Louisiana, f ...

, a general in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

. There are no incorporated villages in the town, but there is one

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

: the hamlet of Ripley. The town is perhaps best known as being the western end of the

New York State Thruway {{Infobox road , state = NY , type = NYST , alternate_name = Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway , maint = NYSTA , map = {{maplink, frame=yes, plain=yes, frame-align=center, frame-width=290, type=line, stroke-width=2, type2=line, from2=New Yor ...

History

Ripley was first settled ''circa'' 1804 in the vicinity of Ripley village. The town was established in 1817 from part of the town of

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

. Much of the economy of the town in recent years has been based on growing fruit, especially

Concord grape The Concord grape is a cultivar derived from the grape species '' Vitis labrusca'' (also known as fox grape) that are used as table grapes, wine grapes and juice grapes. They are often used to make grape jelly, grape juice, grape pies, grape-fl ...

Notable people

Richard Theodore Ely Richard Theodore Ely (April 13, 1854 – October 4, 1943) was an American economist, author, and leader of the Progressive movement who called for more government intervention to reform what they perceived as the injustices of capitalism, especia ...

, economist * B.F. Goodrich, founder of the popular rubber company *

Charles Mann Hamilton Charles Mann Hamilton (January 23, 1874 – January 3, 1942) was an American politician from New York. Life Hamilton attended Ripley High School, the Fredonia Normal School (now the State University of New York at Fredonia), and the Pennsylvani ...

, former US congressman *

Dudley Marvin Dudley Marvin (May 9, 1786 – June 25, 1856) was a U.S. Representative from New York. Born in Lyme, Connecticut, Marvin attended Colchester (Connecticut) Academy. He moved to Canandaigua, New York, in 1807 and studied law. He was admitte ...

, former US congressman * Joseph A. McGinnies, former New York state assemblyman * Edward Orton Sr., first president of the

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.21%, is water. The

(

Interstate 90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, and ...

US 20 U.S. Route 20 or U.S. Highway 20 (US 20) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that stretches from the Pacific Northwest east to New England. The "0" in its route number indicates that US 20 is a major coast-to-coast route. S ...

NY 5 New York State Route 5 (NY 5) is a state highway that extends for across the state of New York in the United States. It begins at the Pennsylvania state line in the Chautauqua County town of Ripley and passes through Buffalo, Sy ...

, and NY 76 pass through the town.

Adjacent towns and areas

(

Clockwise Two-dimensional rotation can occur in two possible directions. Clockwise motion (abbreviated CW) proceeds in the same direction as a clock's hands: from the top to the right, then down and then to the left, and back up to the top. The opposite ...

) *

* Westfield * Mina * North East Township, Erie County, Pennsylvania

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2000, there were 2,636 people, 1,004 households, and 722 families residing in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was 53.9 people per square mile (20.8/km²). There were 1,211 housing units at an average density of 9.6 persons/km² (24.7 persons/sq mi). The racial makeup of the town was 98.25% White, 0.19%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.11% Native American, 0.08%

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

n, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.34% from other races, and 0.99% from two or more races. 1.44% of the population were

Hispanic or Latino ''Hispanic'' and '' Latino'' are ethnonyms used to refer collectively to the inhabitants of the United States who are of Spanish or Latin American ancestry (). While the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, for example, by the United States ...

of any race. There were 1,004 households, out of which 33.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.8% were married couples living together, 7.7% have a woman whose husband does not live with her, and 28.0% were non-families. 23.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.08. In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.5% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.1 males. The median income for a household in the town was $33,237, and the median income for a family was $37,083. Males had a median income of $28,278 versus $23,359 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the town was $15,652. 10.3% of the population and 7.8% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 12.1% are under the age of 18 and 9.9% are 65 or older.

Communities and locations in Ripley

*East Ripley – A small

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

on Route 20 in the northeast corner of the town between Forsyth and Ripley *Forsyth – A hamlet on Route 20 in the northeast corner of the town *Minnegar Corners – A hamlet at the junction of Greenbush ( Route 76) and Noble roads near the eastern town line *Raters Corners – A location in the southeast part of the town on County Road 22 * Ripley – The hamlet of Ripley, located on Route 20 in the north central part of the town. This community was once known as "Quincy." *Ripley Beach – A location on the shore of Lake Erie north of Forsyth *Sheldon Corners – A location in the southeast part of the town on County Road 22 *Shore Haven – a hamlet on the shore of Lake Erie and the eastern town line *South Ripley – A hamlet in the southwestern part of the town on County Road 6 *State Line – a hamlet at the Pennsylvania-New York boundary on Route 20 *Wattlesburg – A hamlet in the center of the town, south of Ripley village

Notable people

* William Avery Cochrane, member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

Richard T. Ely Richard Theodore Ely (April 13, 1854 – October 4, 1943) was an American economist, author, and leader of the Progressive movement who called for more government intervention to reform what they perceived as the injustices of capitalism, especial ...

, economist and author * Benjamin Goodrich, industrialist and businessman in the rubber industry * John H. Haight resting place, soldier in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, politician who represented

New York's 43rd congressional district The 43rd congressional district of New York was a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives in New York. It was created in 1913 as a result of the United States Census, 1910, 1910 Census. It was eliminated in 1963 as a ...

* Bruce Johnstone, New Zealand-born jazz

baritone saxophone The baritone saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass. It is the lowest-pitched saxophone in common use - the bass, contra ...

player *

, politician who represented New York's 26th and 31st congressional district * Joseph A. McGinnies, businessman and politician *

William Spencer Newbury William Spencer Newbury (September 19, 1834 – November 19, 1915), commonly known as W. S. Newbury, was an American businessman, politician, and lawyer active in the U.S. Midwest and Oregon who served as the mayor of Portland, Oregon ...

, politician who served as the 23rd

mayor of Portland, Oregon The Mayor of Portland, Oregon is the official head of the city of Portland, Oregon, United States. The officeholder is elected for a four-year term and has no term limits. By law, all elections in Portland are nonpartisan. The current mayor is Ted ...

References

External links

*
Early Ripley history
{{authority control Towns in Chautauqua County, New York