1904 courthouse photo courtesy of State Historical Society

2006 Photo of courthouse courtesy of Jim Kuntz

When Congress created the Territory of Missouri in 1812, what eventually became Ripley County lay within New Madrid County. Three years later, Lawrence County was established, which included all of southern Missouri west of the St. Francis River as well as a portion of northern Arkansas. The seat of justice for Lawrence County was located at Davidsonville in present-day Arkansas.

The administrative configuration of southern Missouri changed again in 1818 with the creation of Wayne County. This massive county included nearly one-fifth of the area lying within the Missouri Territory. Greenville became county seat.

Located deep in the rugged, wooded hills of southern Missouri, the area now included within the boundaries of Ripley County remained sparsely settled throughout the 19th Century. Although officially organized in 1833, the county did not assume its present size until 1872.

In 1833 the General Assembly established Ripley County from a portion of Wayne County. At its creation, the county included the area comprising present-day Ripley, Carter, Shannon, Oregon, and Howell Counties, with Van Buren as the county seat. Over the next 26 years, Ripley's boundaries decreased as new counties were formed - Shannon (1841); Oregon, which included today's Oregon and Howell Counties (1845); and Carter (1859). The last boundary adjustment occurred in 1872.

Ripley County's seat of justice was moved to the newly platted Doniphan in 1847 and a wooden courthouse was built. This building served the county until Union Troops burned it, and most of Doniphan in 1864. Fortunately, William Russell, a county official, had earlier removed the county's record books from the courthouse and placed them in a cave south of town. They remained hidden until retrieved by the county clerk in 1867.

Because of the chaos and destruction brought about by the Civil War, Ripley Countians did not replace the courthouse until 1871. A two-story brick courthouse resulted from the $10,000 bond passed by the county's citizens and housed the administrative offices until destroyed by fire in January 1898.

Ripley County's current courthouse was designed by William F. Schrage of Kansas City and built in 1898-1899. A central tower, later destroyed during a 1929 tornado, dominated the two-story brick structure. Federal relief workers undertook some repairs and renovations of the courthouse during the 1930s. Not until extensive remodeling project completed in the 1970s, however, was central heating incorporated into the building. The century-old courthouse is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

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