Ripley, West Virginia

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Ripley, West Virginia
settlement_type = City
nickname =
motto =

imagesize = 250px
image_caption = North Court Street in downtown Ripley in 2007


image_

mapsize = 250px
map_caption = Location of Ripley, West Virginia


mapsize1 =
map_caption1 =

subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = West Virginia
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Jackson

government_footnotes =
government_type =
leader_title =
leader_name =
leader_title1 =
leader_name1 =
established_title =
established_date =

unit_pref = Imperial
area_footnotes =

area_magnitude =
area_total_km2 = 8.0
area_land_km2 = 8.0
area_water_km2 = 0.0
area_total_sq_mi = 3.1
area_land_sq_mi = 3.1
area_water_sq_mi = 0.0

population_as_of = 2000
population_footnotes =
population_total = 3263
population_density_km2 = 407.8
population_density_sq_mi = 1056.3

timezone = Eastern (EST)
utc_offset = -5
timezone_DST = EDT
utc_offset_DST = -4
elevation_footnotes =
elevation_m = 187
elevation_ft = 614
latd = 38 |latm = 49 |lats = 16 |latNS = N
longd = 81 |longm = 42 |longs = 51 |longEW = W

postal_code_type = ZIP code
postal_code = 25271
area_code = 304
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 54-68596GR|2
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 1545757GR|3
website =
footnotes =

Ripley is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, West Virginia, United States.GR|6 Ripley was chartered as the county seat in 1832, and is said to have been named for Harry Ripley, a traveling Methodist preacher who drowned in Mill Creek in 1830. 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. ["West Virginia Blue Book." [http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Educational/publications/pub.cfm Published annually] by the Clerk's Office of the West Virginia Senate.] [cite book| last= Flesher Bolovan |first= Carolyn |editor= Ken Sullivan (ed.) | title= The West Virginia Encyclopedia |year= 2006 |publisher= West Virginia Humanities Council |location=Charleston, W.Va. |isbn= 0-9778498-0-5 |pages= p. 618 |chapter=Ripley]

Geography

Ripley is located at coor dms|38|49|16|N|81|42|51|W|city (38.821078, -81.714264),GR|1 along Mill Creek. [cite book| title= West Virginia Atlas & Gazetteer |year=1997 |publisher= DeLorme |location=Yarmouth, Me. |isbn= 0-89933-246-3 |pages= p. 33]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.1 square miles (8.0 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 3,263 people, 1,423 households, and 893 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,056.3 people per square mile (407.7/km²). There were 1,543 housing units at an average density of 499.5/sq mi (192.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.22% White, 0.06% African American, 0.06% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 0.37% from other races, and 1.07% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.64% of the population.

There were 1,423 households out of which 23.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.5% were married couples living together, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.2% were non-families. 34.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.78.

In the city the population was spread out with 19.2% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 22.6% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 25.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 79.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 73.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $25,861, and the median income for a family was $37,027. Males had a median income of $29,531 versus $20,881 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,451. About 12.1% of families and 16.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.5% of those under age 18 and 9.9% of those age 65 or over.

Notable natives

*Kane Davis - Baseball pitcher (apparently born in Ripley, but actually grew up and played baseball in Spencer)
*Luci Harris - Lead Developer on the game "Battle Toads"

Trivia

*Ripley is known to have the "Biggest Smalltown Fourth of July Celebration" in the nation.Fact|date=March 2007
*On Independence Day, 2002, George W. Bush gave a public speech at the town's courthouse. [ [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/07/20020704-3.html] White House press release]

References

External links

* [http://www.mainstreetripley.org/ Ripley Main Street project]