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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.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Founding 1.2 Birthplace of the Republican Party 2 Demographics 3 Ripon's Mayors 4 See also 5 External links

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.

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. [1].

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

As of the census^GR2 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.

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.

• 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.
• Ripon, California was named after Ripon, Wisconsin
• John Reinsch, former mayor

• City of Ripon
• Aaron Kramer, Current Mayor of the City of Ripon
• History of Ripon
• Ripon College Archives On-Line Historical Reference Information
• David P. Mapes' account of early Ripon, 1870
• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 43.844905° -88.839615°
  • Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
  • Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
  • Topographic map from TopoZone
  • Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA