Ripley, the county seat, was formed in June, 1836, upon fifty acres of land donated to the county by John Brown. The town is centrally located on the Newport News & Mississippi Railway, fifty-two miles north of Memphis, 185 miles west from Nashville, and sixteen miles east from the Mississippi River, on the highest point between Memphis and Paducah, KY., on the railroad, and has a population of about 900.

The town has been incorporated since 1849. J. M. Smith & Co. were the first merchants in 1836. Little business was transacted between that year and 1837, and from then until 1840 the merchants were J. M. C. Robertson, W. K. Dobins & Co., Mark Watkins and Devenport & Whitson. Joseph Wardlaw had a tannery during that period; William Cooper, a tailor shop; Henry Murphey, a hattery, and William P. Gains a blacksmith shop. Isaac Pinson erected the first hotel, which was subsequently run by Thomas Hart and Joseph Goodman, and then closed. In the latter part of the above period, Joseph Wardlaw opened a hotel at his residence n Sugar Hill.

The merchants between 1840 and 1850 were John J. Nelson, Yancy & Langley, Thomas Hart, George B. Carson, Glass Bros., Joseph Clay, James McClelland, Robert Hall and W. H. Davis.

Between 1850 and 1860, J. B. Clay, Glass Bros., B. A. Sinclair, G. D. Carson, Farmer & Wardlaw, Smith & Vanderbilt, Robert Hall, Joseph McClelland, O'STEIN & LUNSFORD and William Vale.

Between 1860 and 1870, Glass & Son, Macklin & Co., John W. Wylie, Sinclair and Son, Wardlaw & Scott, John Felsenthal, Wardlaw & Son, Carson Bros., McKinney & Co., Glass & Co., Barbee & Tucker, Barbee & Anderson, and Gray & Porter. Thomas Furguson, hotel; Jo. C. Marley, livery stable.

Between 1870 and 1880, Barbee & Co., Glass & Co., John Felsenthal, Porter & Co., Tucker, Adair & Co., Thomas Bird, James Johnson, Neighbors & McLeod, John E. Gray, Sinclair & Son, Carson Bros., Glass & Son, Maclin & Falts, Hall & Braden, Hearring Bros., Williams & Co., C. L. Strickland, Wheeler & Co., Branch & Woodard, Johnston & Rogers, Plant & Co., R. S. Porter, and Ward & Adair. Hotel and livery proprietors same as between 1860 and 1870.

The business men of the present are J. J. Barbee & Co., dry goods and groceries; B. A. Sinclair & Son, Chapman & Campbell, Tillman Bros., I. Lang, dry goods; R. C. Klutts, Wm. Tucker, Wm. Robertson, T. L. Johnson, groceries; C. S. McKinney & Co., Porter & Henry, Byrn & Meadows, drugs; W. J. Campbell, hardware; Johnston & Co., furniture and undertakers; John Felsenthal, general store; L. H. Joragin, jewelry; D. R. Larrymore, tinware; Gus Hobbs, confectionery; R. C. Klutts, Berg & Shafer, meat markets; J. D. Trimble, harness-maker; J. M. Campbell, J. Haebt, boot and shoe-makers; Pierson & Furguson, J. W. Kirkpatrick, livery stables; J. D. Henry and G. C. Porter, hotels; Henry & Brown, R. M. Hughes, blacksmiths and wood-workers.

** Note:  The business of Osteen and Lunsford was owned by Hardy R. Osteen (husband of Elizabeth Lunsford) and Aris D. Lunsford (believed to be brother of William Lunsford).