First Congregational Church - Ripon, WI
N 43° 50.694 W 088° 50.410
16T E 352081 N 4856292
This church building was built in 1868. The church itself was founded in 1850. It is located at 220 Ransom St. in Ripon, WI.
Waymark Code: WM37DH
Location: Wisconsin, United States
Date Posted: 02/22/2008
Views: 8
From the First Congregational Church
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."