Ripley is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( ) 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 also has the shortest avera ...

in the westernmost part of

Chautauqua County, New York Chautauqua County is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 127,657. Its county seat is Mayville, and its largest city is Jamestown. Its name is believed to be the lone surviving rem ...

, United States. The population was 2,310 at the time of the 2020 census. The town was named after Eleazer Wheelock Ripley, a general in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

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

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), 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 counte ...

: the hamlet of Ripley. The town is perhaps best known as being the western terminus of the New York State Thruway.

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

Notable people

* Richard Theodore Ely, economist * B.F. Goodrich, founder of the popular rubber company * Charles Mann Hamilton, former US congressman * Dudley Marvin, 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 (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.21%, is water. The New York State Thruway (

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 states, Mountain West, Great Pla ...

US 20 U.S. Route 20 or U.S. Highway 20 (US 20) is an east–west United States Highway, 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 ...

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 or senses of rotation. Clockwise motion (abbreviated CW) proceeds in the same direction as a clock's hands relative to the observer: from the top to the right, then down and then to ...

) *

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

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 2,636 people, 1,004 households, and 722 families residing in the town. The population density was . 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 known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.11% Native American, 0.08%

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

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 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 Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

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 average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

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 Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

on Route 20 in the northeastern corner of the town between Forsyth and Ripley *Forsyth – A hamlet on Route 20 in the northeastern 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 southeastern 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

, north of Forsyth *Sheldon Corners – A location in the southeastern 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. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...

* Richard T. Ely, 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, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

* Charles Mann Hamilton, politician who represented New York's 43rd congressional district * Bruce Johnstone, New Zealand-born jazz

baritone saxophone The baritone saxophone (sometimes abbreviated to "bari sax") 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 saxophone, bass. It is the lowe ...

player * Dudley Marvin, politician who represented New York's 26th and 31st congressional district * Joseph A. McGinnies, businessman and politician * William Spencer Newbury, 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 K ...

References

External links

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