The Hub of Huron
Ripley is known as the "Hub of Huron" for good reason.
The center of the former Township of Huron, it is situated almost
in the heart of the Township of Huron-Kinloss and is now the municipal
seat for the amalgamated communities of the Village of Lucknow,
and Kinloss and Ripley-Huron Townships. The former Ripley Township
Hall was renovated and expanded in 1997 to house the new township's
municipal offices.
Village History
Evicted from their crofts on Lewis Island, the Outer Hebrides,
Scotland, 109 families settled in Ripley and area to work the land
here. Named after a town in Derbyshire, England, the post office
opened in 1857. From 1874 to 1880, the community was known as "Dingwall",
before reverting back to Ripley.
The first village store was a liquor store operated by Mr. Carter.
The completion of the Wellington, Grey and Bruce Railway in 1873
placed Ripley on the business map. By 1886, Ripley was a thriving
community with a jewellery store, barber shop, harness shop, four
general stores, two blacksmith shops, a grain elevator, two grocery
stores, a carriage works, a flax mill, a brick school, a furniture
store, three hotels, a bookstore, two shoe stores, a planing mill,
a township and society hall, an oatmeal mill, a hardware store,
a bakery, three hotels, a drugstore and four churches of various
denominations.
The village was incorporated in 1925 and the first election was
held on June 1, 1925. John B. Martyn was the village's first reeve
and R.H. Martyn was the first clerk.
Ripley Today
Today, Ripley has a population of approximately 600 people. The
community boasts a post office, legion, retirement home, an arena,
soccer fields, a library, a school, tennis courts, three churches,
a ball diamond, various stores and restaurants and a volunteer fire
department.
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