Ripley
Church of Christ had its beginning only 25 years
after the first settlers arrived in Holmes County,
Ohio. A man by the name of George Lucy planned the
first organized gathering in 1834 at the cabin of
John B. Brown.
Then
in 1836, 21 charter members organized the Ripley
Church. The congregation built its first church
building in 1841 on the L.D. Critchfield farm near
its current location. Circuit Rider preachers
ministered to the early church. During the Civil War,
the church struggled through a time without any
preaching, but nevertheless, the congregation held a
time of prayer and Communion service every Sunday.
After
the Civil War, Ripley's membership grew to about 200,
and a new church building was built in 1872.
Improvements were made to that building and in 1965,
the church's present parsonage was added. The current
church building was dedicated in 1968, and the
addition of the basement andd fellowship hall
followed in 1986.
