Ripon High School - Tiger Yearbook (Ripon, WI)

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vmziii The Tiger, 1926 1861-An old drawing taken from the east side of the Square To Alvin Bovay goes the honor of being the first lawyer in Ripon, his practice start' in 1850. Perhaps if Sam Pedrick or Roy Reed were to go through his library they would meet with surprising facts. ' David Greenway began a grocery husif ness, along with a drug store, which later came into the hands of Mr. Wilsoxi. After 1850, Ripon possessing stores, population and good advantages, grew rapidly. The stores found themselves advantageously sit- uated, with more being added as time went on. In relation to the presentfday arrange' ment of stores, Jeebediah Bowen's Merchan' dise Store was located on the northwest corner of the Public Square, about where Mrs. Kingsbury's music store now is. Pet' tibone's, a general store, was the predeces- sor of the Matticeffioster Company. Most of the lumber used in the construction of these offices and stores was sawed at Strong's Mill in Ceresco. Of course, during all of this time, the town Ceresco was entirely separate from Ripon. The two towns were located, one on either side of the hill. Ceresco had flourished for several years before the con- struction of Ripon began. Ceresco had been so named in honor of Ceres, the God' des of Agriculture, who smiled so benign' ly on the countryside surrounding Ripon. There was plenty of good, rich loam and water was plentiful, as Silver Creek, then almost a river, wound its way through the country. In the early '5Ols, we lind an increasingly interested attitude toward Spiritualism. As was mentioned before, Warren Chase was Eleven

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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.

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The Tiger, 1926 -ffl t?5'6Ql' . Q. l 1863-Main street, looking south from the Square. The building to the left is the present Yerk and Ladwig Barber Shop. All of the buildings at the right were burned in the fire of 1882. the ringleader in interest. The Dodges, Hastings, Hills and several other families held their private seances to communicate with their departed friends. Interest ran so high that on one occasion a man building a new residence on the hill on East Fond du Lac Street, directly across from the present high school, was informed at one of the neighborhood gatherings, by solicitous def parted dear ones that there was a considf erable sum of money hidden on the premf ises. Very specific directions were given, and the following day a search was made -several holes were dug in search of the hidden mint, but ultimate disappointment was his. The money was never found. Although the people of Ceresco and Ri' pon did not mingle a great deal, the Spiritualistic interest brought a good many together. As people moved away and no marvelous iresults were gained, interest gradually slackened. VV'arren Chase later moved to St. Louis where he continued his research work, running a book store in conf nection with it. In the meantime, in 1854 there was high indignation over the passing of the Kansas' Nebraska bill. Andrew Bovay, the lawyer, with Jebdiah Bowen as a close ally, was chief among those to read the bill as a men' ace to antifslavery forces. The two started propaganda and headed a new movement which soon resulted in dehnite action. Meet- ings were held in the small church on the hill. This tiny building has since developed into the Congregational church of today, which in November of last year celebrated its Diamond jubilee. The meetings were attended by both Whigs and Democrats, and it appears, was both lively and interest' ing-too interesting, in fact, for it was def clared no such meeting could again be held within the church. In these exciting meetings, the kernel of a new political movement was started. The Whig and Tory elements merged in their ideas. Andrew Bovay suggested that a new party be formed, and that its name be Re- publicanf' He made a trip to New York, interviewing Horace Greeley, the famous Twelve