Ripley Massacre
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QuesterMark
N 33° 10.727 W 095° 09.042
15S E 299477 N 3673166
This marker stands on the north side of U.S. 67, in the middle of nowhere, east of the town of Mt. Vernon.
Waymark Code: WM4EZQ
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 08/14/2008
Views: 54
Texas Historical Commission Atlas data:
Index Entry: Ripley Massacre
City: Mt. Vernon
County: Franklin
Subject Codes: pioneers; military topics; Native Americans
Year Marker Erected: 1986
Marker Location: US 67 at Ripley Creek Crossing, 4 mi. east of Mt. Vernon
Marker Size: 27" x 42"
Marker Number: 9849
Marker Text:
Ambrose Ripley and his wife Rachel (Wood) brought their family to Texas in 1837, settling near here in what was then Red River County. They established their home near the Nacogdoches Road (Cherokee Trace) and a stream now known as Ripley Creek.
On April 10, 1841, while Ripley was away, a band of Indians attacked his farmstead, killing first his eldest son who was plowing in the field. Mrs. Ripley and five children were killed trying to reach a canebreak and one infant died when the house was burned. Two of Ripley's daughters eluded the Indians and made it to a neighboring farm. Charles Black and Charles S. Stewart led a group of settlers north in pursuit of the band. Near the Sulphur River, they encountered Indians, who may or may not have been involved in the massacre, and attacked them, killing several.
The Ripley family massacre was an isolated incident in this area, but it proved to be a rallying point for increased frontier defenses and for support of the anti-Indian policies of Texas President Mirabeau B. Lamar. The attack also influenced the formation of a militia unit under the leadership of Gen. Edward H. Tarrant and Cols. James Bourland and William C. Young to rid the area of Indians.
Texas Sesquicentennial 1836 - 1986
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