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

History

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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 modern Ripon Society, a Republican think tank, takes its name from the city.

Demographics

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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 623.2/km² (1,612.8/mi²). There were 3,118 housing units at an average density of 284.6/km² (736.5/mi²). 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.

See also

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• Ripon College (alumni Harrison Ford and Spencer Tracy)
• H. Gordon Selfridge, 1857-1947 Born in Ripon, Selfridge coined the "__ Shopping Days Until Christmas" advertising catch-phrase as an employee of Chicago-based Marshall Field & Co, and "The Customer Is Always Right" for the London-based Selfridge's department store he founded.

External links

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• City of Ripon
• History of Ripon
• Ripon College Archives On-Line Historical Reference Information
• David P. Mapes' account of early Ripon, 1870

Cities in Wisconsin | Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin | 1849 establishments