Ripon, Wisconsin

Ripon is a city in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 6,828. The city is located within the Town of Ripon.

History

Founding

Ripon, named for the English cathedral city of Ripon, North Yorkshire, was founded in 1849 by David P. Mapes, a former New York steamboat captain. Within two years the city had absorbed the nearby commune of Ceresco, established in 1844 by the Wisconsin Phalanx, a group of settlers inspired by the utopian socialist philosophy of Charles Fourier. Mapes also initiated the formation of Ripon College, originally incorporated as Brockway College in 1851.

Birthplace of the Republican Party

Meeting at a school house in Ripon on February 28, 1854, some thirty opponents of the Nebraska Act called for the organization of a new political party and suggested that Republican would be the most appropriate name (to link their cause with the Declaration of Independence). The radicals also took a leading role in the creation of the Republican Party in many northern states during the summer of 1854. While conservatives and many moderates were content merely to call for the restoration of the Missouri Compromise or a prohibition of slavery extension, the radicals insisted that no further political compromise with slavery was possible.

The February 1854 meeting was the first political meeting of the group that would become the Republican Party. The first meeting by a group that called itself "Republican" took place later in 1854 in Jackson, Michigan. Both cities, along with Exeter, New Hampshire and Crawfordsville, Iowa, bill themselves as the "Birthplace of the Republican Party," however, Jackson is most often associated with this idea, as the event taking place was the first official Republican Party meeting.

The modern Ripon Society, a Republican think tank, takes its name from Ripon, Wisconsin.

Geography

Ripon is located at (43.844905, -88.839615).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.3 square miles (11.0 km²), of which, 4.2 square miles (11.0 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it is water. The total area is 0.47% water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 6,828 people, 2,922 households, and 1,759 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,612.8 people per square mile (623.2/km²). There were 3,118 housing units at an average density of 736.5/sq mi (284.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.72% White, 0.19% Black or African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.50% Asian, 0.86% from other races, and 0.57% from two or more races. 2.21% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 2,922 households out of which 28.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.8% were married couples living together, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.8% were non-families. 34.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.93.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.3% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 19.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 87.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $37,399, and the median income for a family was $51,100. Males had a median income of $35,990 versus $25,053 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,313. About 4.4% of families and 6.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.0% of those under age 18 and 5.2% of those age 65 or over.

Mayors

Year	Name
1858	Harvey Grant
1859	Jehdiah Bowen
1860	H.S. Town
1861	Philo England
1862	Ceylon North
1863	C.F. Hammond
1864	Pertine Pinkney
1865	H.T. Henton
1866	A.M. Skeels
1867	Samuel Sumner
1868	Jehdiah Bowen (2nd)
1869	William Workman
1870	George L. Field
1871	Aaron Everhard
1872	O.U. Akin
1873	O.J. Wolcott
1874-78	Aaron Everhard (2nd)
1879	Samuel Sumner
1880	I.M. Dakin
1881	A.P Harwood
1882-85	Aaron Everhard (3rd)
1886	Lewis Reed
1887	Marcellus Pedrick
1888-89	H.C. Everesz
1890-92	Aaron Everhard (3rd)
1893	E.J. Burnside
1894	Alanson Wood
1895	Philomen Wicks
1896	Chester Hazen
1897	George L. Field (2nd)
1898	Bruno Shallern
1899	Hugo Schultz
1900-02	John T. Harris
1902-04	I.F. Strauss
1904-06	John T. Harris (2nd)
1906-14	Lewis Kellogg
1914-16	Albert Maudlin
1916-18	L.W. Thayer
1918-20	Charles H. Graham
1920-22	Herman Thiel
1922-32	Lewis Kellogg (2nd)
1932-36	Harold Bumby
1936-40	W.H. Barber
1940-44	Eugene von Schallern
1944-48	Les Chelstrom
1948-56	Robert Born
1956-60	John H. Wilson
1960-62	J. Gordon Thiel
1962-63	Peter Ramsey
1963-68	John Adamski
1968-72	Fred W. Kohl, Jr.
1972-74	Mark Conrad
1974-77	Michael Williams (A)
1977-82	Warren Bredahl
1982-84	Thomas (Ted) Jones
1984-86	Warren Bredahl (2nd)
1986-88	David Gray
1988-96	John Haupt
1996-2002	Bob Somers
2002-2003	John Reinsch (B)
2003-present	Aaron Kramer

A - Resigned April 1977. Warren Bredahl appointed to the position.

B - Resigned June 2003. Aaron Kramer appointed to the position.

Education

Ripon College is a liberal arts college in Ripon.

Notable people

Bruno E. Jacob, 1899-1979, Founder of the National Forensics League, was born in Ripon.
H. Gordon Selfridge, 1857-1947, Founder of London-based Selfridges department store, was born in Ripon.