A part of the Virginia Military District, Ripley was founded in 1812 by Colonel James Poage, a veteran of the Revolutionary War. Originally named Staunton, after Poage's home town in Virginia, the village comprised 1,000 acres along the Ohio river. With its riverside location and deep water landing area, Ripley became a thriving community. Large quantities of flour, pork, and other goods were shipped from Ripley via flatboats down the Ohio. This continued as steamboats took over the river trade and cargoes came to include tobacco and other goods. Some of the goods leaving the area were shipped on vessels built in Rilpley's two boatyards. During the early and middle decades of the nineteenth century, the yards produced several steamboats. The boatyards were located on Ripley's riverbank and lumber for boats came from surrounding forests. Red Oak Creek, running into the Ohio, was an especially favorable location for area mills and slaughterhouses.
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