First Congregational Church - Ripon, WI - This Old Church on Waymarking.com

From the First Congregational Church web site:
"Founded in 1850, First Congregational Church is the oldest continuous church organization in Ripon and its original meeting house was the first church to be built in the area.

The first European settlers had moved here from Southport, now Kenosha, Wisconsin, in May 1844. They established the Wisconsin Phalanx, a social experiment. This early community, called Ceresco, remains a section of the City of Ripon. By 1849 there also existed a small settlement on the hill east of Ceresco designated by its founder, Captain David P. Mapes, as the village of Ripon.

On November 21, 1850, eleven of these pioneers met in the Mapes Hotel to form a church which they voted to call "The First Congregational Church of Ceresco" (changed to "Ripon" in 1857). They built their first church just north of the present building.

It was in this church, on March 1, 1854, that the first of the Bovay Meetings was held -- meetings which led to the formation of the Republican Party. The historical record indicates that these early members did not hesitate to take a stand on controversial issues. In January 1856 the Church passed a resolution "that it will not fellowship slaveholders, nor admit them to our communion." They also looked kindly upon the leadership of women and almost from the beginning women have served in leadership roles. Women were elected to the Board of Trustees as early as 1896.

The current church building was constructed in 1866-68 at a cost of $22,000. It is listed on the Wisconsin and National Register of Historic Places. Through the years this has been a meeting house of an active congregation, interested not only in their own welfare, but in the well being of others."

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