Ripley-Jackson County Courthouse - Ripley WV - Civil War Discovery Trail Sites on Waymarking.com

Ripley-Jackson County Courthouse— The Blue and Gray Trail —Jackson County was created by an act of the Virginia Assembly on March 1, 1831, and named in honor of President Andrew Jackson.

The first courthouse on this site was a brick structure. The land for the courthouse square was donated by Jacob and Ann Starcher. The second courthouse, a cut stone and brick structure, was completed in 1856 and was in use at the time of the Civil War. During the War Between the States, the people of Jackson County were divided in political opinions. Some wanted to remain with Virginia and fight for the Southern cause. Others supported joining the Union as a new and separate state. These different viewpoints led to great civil unrest between neighbors and relatives. The bitter feelings remained many years after the war.

Confederate and Union troops moved back and forth through Jackson County during the war. On September 3, 1863, General Albert Jenkins, while on a Confederate Cavalry raid through central West Virginia, entered Ripley with about 500 men. They took provisions from local businesses and relieved a United States military paymaster of $5,525.00. The next morning they moved on to Ravenswood and then crossed into Ohio.

In 1915, a statue in memory of the Federal soldiers was erected on the courthouse square. The two bronze cannons displayed on this site are “mountain howitzers.” These cannons were well designed for the mountain terrain of West Virginia. They could easily be disassembled and loaded on pack animals for transport over rough roads.

Type of site: Transportation Route or Facility Address: Court Street On the lawn of the Jackson County Courthouse Ripley, WV USA 25271 Admission Charged: No Charge Website: [Web Link] Phone Number: Not listed Driving Directions: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   10/04/2021 Don.Morfe visited it