Local History & Genealogy Resources
In addition to the resources below - many of which are now available digitally through our website - the local history & genealogy section contains other useful materials such as plat books, old city directories, genealogical society newsletters, historical atlases and much more.
Please visit the Ripon Historical Society for additional information about the history of Ripon.
Pedrick Collection Digitization Project
- View the Pedrick Historical Collection online.
The Ripon Public Library is beginning an extensive project in cooperation with the Ripon Historical Society to digitize the Pedrick Historical Collection for both preservation and online accessibility. The collection consists of numerous historical and genealogical records kept by local historian Samuel Pedrick, a long-time Ripon resident and prominent figure in the city's history. For more information on the collection left by Samuel Pedrick, please visit the Pedrick Collection Guide at Ripon College. Biographical information is also available from the Ripon College website.
City and County Directories
Our local history collection includes local city and/or county directories dating back to 1901. There are some gaps in the collection. Years that we have available include:
- 1901
- 1913
- 1917
- 1913/14
- 1915/16
- 1917/18
- 1919/20
- 1921/22
- 1924/25
- 1927/28
- 1922
- 1924
- 1926
- 1945
- 1951
- 1953/54
- 1955
- 1957
- 1959
- 1960
- 1962
- 1963
- 1965
- 1966
- 1969/70
- 1967/68
- 1971
- 1973
- 1974
- 1975
- 1976
- 1977
- 1978
- 1979
- 1980
- 1981
- 1982
- 1983
- 1984
- 1985
- 1986
- 1986
- 1988
- 1989
- 1990
- 1991
- 1992
- 1993
- 1995
- 1996
- 1997
- 1998
- 1999
- 2000
- 2001
- 2002
- 2003
- 2004
- 2005
Obituary Database
The Ripon Historical Society has compiled an obituary Database using information from the local newspapers and countless volunteer hours. The index is now searchable by name and date.
Ripon Newspapers
A collection of back issues of Ripon newspapers on microfilm is available at the library, dating back to the mid 1800's. Visit our Library Services page for a complete list of newspapers and dates.
Local High School Yearbooks
Included in the library's local history collection are local high school yearbooks. Please note that there are a number of gaps in the collection. If you would be willing to donate copies to help fill in the missing years, please contact the library.
We are currently investigating the possibility of digitizing the yearbook collection.
| 1917 | 1918 | 1919 | |||||||
| 1920 | 1921 | 1922 | 1923 | 1924 | 1925 | 1926 | 1927 | 1928 | 1929 |
| 1930 | 1931 | 1932 | 1933 | 1934 | 1935 | 1936 | 1937 | 1938 | 1939 |
| 1940 | 1941 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949 | ||
| 1950 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 | |
| 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1969 | ||||
| 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | ||
| 1989 | |||||||||
| 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | |||||
| 2003 | 2004 | 2005 |
Genealogical Resources
The library owns a large number of genealogical reference books of interest to those seeking information about the central Wisconsin area, as well as books related to immigration records and state history. The city directory collection stretches back to the turn of the century.
Books in the local history collection are for in-library use only and may not be checked out.
Cemetery Records
Ripon residents Joann and Melvin Ingram have spent many years cataloging the permanent residents of many area cemeteries. The library's copies of these records included several ring binders which were quickly falling into disarray. The contents have been scanned and digitized, and are now available online. Use the text links or the image maps below to select the cemetery of your choice.
Warning for dial-up users: A few of these files are 3 MB or larger in size, and may take 10-30 minutes to download over a dial-up connection.
-
Bethel Reeds Corners Cemetery
[0.8 MB]
-
Eureka Cemetery (compiled by Wilbur and Sandra Lewis) [1.6 MB]
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Garden of the Cross [0.6 MB]
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Hillside Cemetery [9.8 MB]
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Loper Cemetery [0.5 MB]
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Peace (German Evangelical Lutheran) Cemetery [0.2 MB]
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St. Patrick's Cemetery [3.0 MB]
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Woodlawn Cemetery [3.7 MB]
Cemeteries in or near the city of Ripon
Cemeteries south of the city of Ripon
Cemeteries north of the city of Ripon
Cemeteries east of the city of Ripon (approximate location)
Belle Lawson Diary
"This is a sort of description, telling of the people and happenings as I knew about them, many years ago. Some of the dates were taken from Stanton Fordice's "West Rosendale News" for the Ripon Press. He was a correspondent for that paper twenty-one years, and it was an unwritten law, in the Press office, that Fordice's news must appear exactly as written - not even a period to be changed frcm the original copy. It gives me pleasure to remember "The Good Old Days"
Belle Lawson
April 15, 1966
