TOWNS
he Ripley County Courthouse is located at 115 North Main Street, Versailles, IN 47042. Phone: 812-689-6226.
Ripley County [†] is located in south east Indiana, somewhat north of the Ohio River, and east of the state line with Ohio. Since the Ohio River was the earliest viable transportation route into lands of the Northwest Territory, settlement first emerged in those counties along the river. Located somewhat inland of that waterway, Ripley County was formed a bit later. Settlers appeared in the area that would become the county about 1814. The county was organized by an act of the state legislature in 1817 and named after Brigadier General Eleazer W. Ripley, a hero of the War of 1812. General Ripley was born in Hanover, New Hampshire in 1782. He entered the War as a lieutenant and rapidly rose to Brigadier General by 1814. Retiring from service in 1820, he died in Louisiana in 1839.
The county was underway in 1818 when, as prescribed by state law, several men were named to select a site for the county seat. John DePauw of Washington County, William Eads of Franklin County and Charles Beggs of Clark County were given this honor. They selected a site, on a high bluff over the Laughery Creek valley, 100 acres. The property on which the courthouse would be located was owned by the wealthy Madison speculator, John Paul, who donated the 100 acre parcel for the purpose of establishing a county seat. The town was named Versailles, after the French city, which was also the home city of John DePauw, one of the incorporators of the county.
† Adapted from: Camille 8. Fife , The Westerly Group, Inc., Ripley County Courthouse, nomonation document, 2009, National Register of Historic Places, Washington, D.C., accessed May, 2025.
HISTORIC SITES