Ripley

Ripley. Jackson County Court House. , Jackson County was created by an act of the Virginia Assembly on March 1, 1831 and named for President Andrew Jackson., The first courthouse was a brick structure. The land for the courthouse square was donated by Jacob Starcher, one of the earliest settlers in Jackson County. The second court house was built of cut stone and was completed in 1856 and was in use at the time of the Civil War. During the War Between the States, citizens of the county were divided in their political views, with some folks wishing to remain with Virginia, while others supported joining the Union and becoming a separate state. The different viewpoints caused strife between neighbors and relatives. The bitter feelings remained for many years after the war., Confederate and Union troops moved back and forth through Jackson County during the war. On September 3, 1862, Gen. 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 Ravenwood 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 on display at this site are "mountain howitzers." These cannons were well designed for the mountain terrain of West Virginia. They could be easily disassembled and loaded onto pack animals for transport over rough roads.