Ripon High School - Tiger Yearbook (Ripon, WI)

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The Tiger, 1926 - TT imioito uiaiimiii' P , -XXWM ,N N the most interesting corner is of our Public Library, we have browsed, poked in creaky, dusf ty old cupboards, turned over piles of yellowed manuscripts, laughed and mused over old portraits of flappers and sheiks in days of yore. And we have found, in our explorations, that real true American history is personified in the building of our own Ripon. The stories are both historical and interesting. In our WE? v . fr , i A ia. search, we have stopped to reminisce and wonder, and we cannot help but contrast --the old days of hoop skirts, muddy, bumpy Watson street, no street lights- again, a beautiful new Post Ofice, Rolls Royce cars whirring along the well-paved streets, and a happy community. Ripon hails as her fatherfmother, David Mapes, a man of rare virtuesf He was born in New York state in 1798, and proved himself an influential citizen in his own state, but he found a lure, an attracf tion, in the developing West, that was not to be overlooked. Being a man of inxdom- itable energy and perseverance, and of a nature to fraternize easily with his fellow' men, he made, as a valuable outlet to his ambitions, plans for the founding of a city. He came with his small band of followers in or about the year 1843, coming through Racine and Milwaukee, searching for the ideal spot their imagination had created. After trials and disappointments they arrived at the spot now called Ceresco and, Nine to quote David Mapes himself, shouted with one accord. This is the spot! But they were to be disappointed onceagain. AThey found upon attempting to enter a tract of land with the registrar at the Land Office at Green Bay that a wide'awake crowd, calling themselves the Wisconsin Phalanx, under the Presidency of Warren Chase, had entered for themselves the pre- ceding year, about a thousand acres of the land they so coveted. The newcomers therefore set to work to farming the excellent fertile soil to the east, and iitting themselves for the coming win' ter, while they observed with interest the doings of their neighbors the Fourierites, or Wisconsin Phalanxers. Mapes found they were members of a sort of joint stock com' pany, practicing the boctrines of Charles Fourier, a Frenchman, who was a Com- munist, hence they were called the Four' ierites. The Company comprised about two hundred in all, and Mapes found many of their activities came as strong competif tion to his plans. They lived in two long houses, one of which still stands, known to us as the Long House. Each provided his share either in capital or labor, and drew from the general fund in proportion to his share. Each man was charged a very small fee for board, amounting to about 63 cents a week. In 1846, the Phalanx was at its height, all was running harmoniously and smoothly, far surpassing any other experiments in that

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H -'J u, ,Q i The Tiger, 1926 , Home of Spiritualistic Colony in Ceresco Organized in 1850 line tried in this country. But later the high moral and religious tension, which had produced the beautifully harmonious state of a few years before, had begun to relax and slowly but surely the colony began to drop apart. Outside influences were felt and some of the members who took up the new ideas were deposed. In 1847, exploiters of the Spiritualistic movement, which was to be felt through' out the country, persuaded Warreii B. Chase to their beliefs, and on his becoming a convert he was deposed from the presi- dency of the Fourierite Colony. He was succeeded by Benjamin Wright, but al- though Chase still wrote stirring articles in favor of the Colony, they soon became a very weak and irresolute lot, when in 1849 Colonel Mapes, the proprietor of the new settlement on the hill east of the colony, swooped down with a Postmaster's commisf sion from President Taylor in his pocket and bore away the mail bags and other insignia of office, heretofore belonging to the Phal-' anx, there was very little protest made. Mr. Mapes found that with the new land came new conditions and provisions. The Ten provisions were-that within a year's time, he should have built and in running order a public house and grist mill, and that the hotels should be kept open by Mr. Mapes personally. As an induction to settlers, Mr. Mapes gave away lots, upon the condition that recipients should make certain im' provements or erect specified buildings bef fore a given time. The very first building put up in Ripon was the Pedrick home, erected about where the Northwestern depot now stands. In comparison with thc present Pedrick home on Watsrmii street, the space was quite limf ited, it being a 12 by 24 foot frame build- ing. Ripon's very first store, owned by E, L. Northrup, was opened on the east side of a square of land situated slightly to the north' east of the hill. Mr. Pedrick, grandfather of Sam Pedrick, followed closely with a two' story building and blacksmith shop. Sever' al dry goods stores were built in the follow' ing year by Jed Bowen and Samuel Sum' ner. Shepard's Hotel was an added feature and a Mr. Taggert opened a hardware shop.