Ripton (fictitious town)

Last updated

Ripton is a fictitious town in Massachusetts, United States. In 1985, Hugh Davis, brother of Hester A. Davis and a professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, along with George "Gige" Darey, a local selectman, sought to demonstrate and protest the ignorance of the state bureaucracy in Boston of the rural portions of the Commonwealth. To do so, he invented the town of Ripton, supposedly founded in 1767. He then proceeded to apply for various grants and other official assistance, and the town was allotted funds in the state budget. [1] Several checks were issued, and deposited in an escrow account, before the hoax was uncovered. The funds were returned and the matter dropped.

In 1985, self-appointed representatives of the town of Ripton contacted the U.S. Air Force and invited them to situate antennas for a post-nuclear war communication system in their town. Robbins Phillips, chairman of the Board of Selectmen of Ripton, stated that the antennas would make good nesting places for eagles. [2]

Some signposts in the western portion of Massachusetts still contain "directions" to Ripton. Lawmakers in western Massachusetts have continued to humorously reference the incident in proposed state budgets. [3]

In his 2003 novel Stillwater, William Weld re-introduces and relocates fictional Ripton from the Berkshires to Hampshire County as a fifth town flooded by the construction of the Quabbin Reservoir in the late 1930s, joining the actual disincorporated and flooded towns of Prescott, Enfield, Greenwich, and Dana.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority</span> Public transport agency in the U.S.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network includes the MBTA subway with three metro lines, two light rail lines, and a five-line bus rapid transit system ; MBTA bus local and express service; the twelve-line MBTA Commuter Rail system, and several ferry routes. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 239,981,700, or about 796,300 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2024, of which the rapid transit lines averaged 265,900 and the light rail lines 95,900, making it the fourth-busiest rapid transit system and the third-busiest light rail system in the United States. As of the second quarter of 2024, average weekday ridership of the commuter rail system was 107,500, making it the fifth-busiest commuter rail system in the U.S.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bridgewater, Massachusetts</span> City in Massachusetts, United States

Bridgewater is a town located in Plymouth County, in the state of Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the town's population was 28,633. Bridgewater is located approximately 25 miles (40 km) south of Boston and approximately 35 miles east of Providence, Rhode Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Massachusetts Turnpike</span> Toll road and Interstate Highway in Massachusetts, United States

The Massachusetts Turnpike is a controlled-access toll highway in the US state of Massachusetts that is maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). It is concurrent with the entirety of Interstate 90 (I-90) within the state, and is the longest Interstate Highway in Massachusetts, spanning 138 miles (222 km) along an east–west axis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marty Meehan</span> American politician (born 1956)

Martin Thomas Meehan is an American academic administrator, politician, and attorney. Since July 2015, Meehan has served as the President of the University of Massachusetts after serving as Chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Lowell since September 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quabbin Reservoir</span> Massachusetts reservoir which serves the Boston area

The Quabbin Reservoir is the largest inland body of water in Massachusetts, United States, and was built between 1930 and 1939. Along with the Wachusett Reservoir, it is the primary water supply for Boston, 65 miles (105 km) to the east, and 40 other cities and towns in Greater Boston. The Quabbin also supplies water to three towns west of the reservoir and acts as backup supply for three others. By 1989, it supplied water for 2.5 million people, about 40% of the state's population at the time. It has an aggregate capacity of 412 billion US gallons (1,560 GL) and an area of 38.6 square miles (99.9 km2).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raymond Flynn</span> American politician (born 1939)

Raymond Leo Flynn is an American politician who served as the mayor of Boston, Massachusetts, from 1984 until 1993. He also served as United States Ambassador to the Holy See from 1993 to 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Menino</span> American politician and mayor (1942–2014)

Thomas Michael Menino was an American politician who served as the mayor of Boston, from 1993 to 2014. He was the city's longest-serving mayor. He was elected mayor in 1993 after first serving three months in the position of "acting mayor" following the resignation of his predecessor Raymond Flynn. Before serving as mayor, Menino was a member of the Boston City Council and had been elected president of the City Council in 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mother Brook</span> River in the United States of America

Mother Brook is a stream that flows from the Charles River in Dedham, Massachusetts, to the Neponset River in the Hyde Park section of Boston, Massachusetts. Mother Brook was also known variously as East Brook and Mill Creek in earlier times. Digging the brook made Boston and some surrounding communities an island, accessible only by crossing over water, making Mother Brook "Massachusetts' Panama Canal."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haverhill Line</span> MBTA Commuter Rail line

The Haverhill Line is a branch of the MBTA Commuter Rail system, running north from downtown Boston, Massachusetts to Haverhill. The service operates on the Western Route of the former Boston and Maine Railroad, which extends north to Portland, Maine, though MBTA commuter rail service has not continued north of Massachusetts since 1967.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fitchburg Cutoff</span> Former rail line in Massachusetts, US

The Fitchburg Cutoff was a rail line running 2.8 miles (4.5 km) from Brighton Street in Belmont, Massachusetts, to Somerville Junction in Somerville, Massachusetts. It was constructed in two segments in 1870 and 1881 to connect the Lexington Branch and Massachusetts Central Railroad to the Boston and Lowell Railroad. Passenger service lasted until 1927. Freight service ended in 1979–80 to allow construction of the Red Line Northwest Extension; the line was abandoned in three sections in 1979, 1983, and 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matthew J. Amorello</span> American politician

Matthew John Amorello is a former Massachusetts state senator and former chairman of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority who presided over the Central Artery/Third Harbor Tunnel Project from 2002 to 2006. The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority is the agency that was in charge of the Big Dig project.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Governorship of Mitt Romney</span> Mitt Romneys tenure as the 70th Governor of Massachusetts

Mitt Romney was sworn in as the 70th Governor of Massachusetts on January 2, 2003, along with Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey. Romney's term ended on January 4, 2007; he chose not to run for re-election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the MBTA</span> Story of mass transit in the Boston US area

The history of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) and its predecessors spans two centuries, starting with one of the oldest railroads in the United States. Development of mass transportation both followed existing economic and population patterns, and helped shape those patterns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert A. Cerasoli</span> American politician

Robert A. Cerasoli is a former member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, the former Inspector General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the former Inspector General of the City of New Orleans. He also founded the Association of Inspectors General in 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 Massachusetts Question 1</span>

The State Income Tax Repeal, also known as Massachusetts Question 1, was one of the 2008 ballot measures that appeared on the November 4, 2008 ballot in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. Voters were asked whether or not they approved of the proposed measure which, if it had passed, would have ended the 5.3% income tax in Massachusetts on wages, interest, dividends and capital gains. Ultimately, Massachusetts voters defeated Question 1 by a wide margin, with approximately 70% opposed versus 30% in favor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green Line Extension</span> Light rail system in greater Boston, US

The Green Line Extension (GLX) was a construction project to extend the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Green Line light rail system northwest into Somerville and Medford, two inner suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts. The project opened in two phases in 2022 at a total cost of $2.28 billion. Total ridership on the 4.3-mile (6.9 km) extension is estimated to reach 45,000 one-way trips per day in 2030.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francis Roache</span> American policeman and politician

Francis Michael Roache was an American law enforcement officer and politician who served as the Boston Police Commissioner from 1985 to 1993. He was also a member of the Boston City Council from 1996 to 2002 and was Suffolk County Register of Deeds from 2002 to 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royall H. Switzler</span> American politician

Royall H. Switzler is an American politician who served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1973 to 1975 and again from 1977 to 1986. He was a candidate for Governor of Massachusetts in 1986 until he dropped out after inaccuracies about his military record were revealed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Colony Memorial (newspaper)</span> Newspaper in Plymouth, Massachusetts

The Old Colony Memorial (est.1822) is a semiweekly newspaper published in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Gannett owns the paper; previous owners include the George W. Prescott Publishing Co. and the Memorial Press Group.

Blackstone-Millville Regional High School is a high school in Blackstone, Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States, operating as part of the Blackstone-Millville Regional School District. It serves both the town of Blackstone and its western neighbor, Millville.

References

  1. Woodward, Meredith (1985), "Ripton, Mass. - A Real Nowhere Town", Boston Globe, Boston, MA (published July 16, 1985)
  2. United Press International (1985), "Where is Ripton? 'We're still looking'", Boston Globe (published July 16, 1985)
  3. Associated Press (1991), "The Humor Rolls on in the State's Budget", Worcester Telegram & Gazette (published May 29, 1991)