Area Travel - AmericInn^® of Ripon, WI

Welcome to Ripon and Beautiful Wisconsin!

To make sense of Ripon today, one must first understand the community's 164-year-old history. It's a history of adventurers, visionaries and entrepreneurs undeterred by economic, political or climatic adversity. Ripon's roots date back to 1844, when about 20 people moved here from Kenosha, Wisconsin seeking to form a utopian community. Their village of Ceresco grew to 200 and among the common buildings they constructed were a communal "long house" and post office that exist today near Ceresco Park.

Just east of Ceresco, settlers formed a second village. It was named "Ripon" after the ancestral home of founder John Scott Horner, who grew up in the English city of Ripon, Yorkshire. A rivalry between Ceresco and Ripon resulted in 1851 with Ripon prevailing and, during that same year, forming a college on top of a hill to attract "responsible" settlers to the area. Today, Ripon College is a distinguished, private liberal arts college.

Three years later, more than fifty citizens gathered on a cold, windy evening in the local one-room school house, entering as anti-slavery Wings, Free Soilers and Democrats and emerging as the first Republicans in the nation. Ripon grew quickly and attracted a large German and Polish population during the second half of the 19th century. Most of its settlers came from New England, New York and Pennsylvania.

Area Attractions and Activities

Mike Norton's Fishing & Hunting Adventures - Fish Wisconsin's deepest lake for the big ones.
Address: W4110 Huckleberry Road, Princeton, WI 54968
Phone: 920-295-3617

Majestic Balloons - Ride over Big Green Lake and the surrounding countryside in an amazing hot air balloon.
Address: PO Box 406, Ripon, WI
Phone: 920-748-3464

Pheasants by the Fox - Small or large group pheasant hunting on some of the most beautiful land in Green Lake County.
Address: W4410 Huckleberry Road, Princeton, WI
Phone: 920-295-3617

Cedar Ridge Ranch - Rent a horse for a trail ride through the woods or take a supervised riding lesson in the area.
Address: W14471 Dartford Road, Ripon, WI
Phone: 920-748-8405

Ripon Foods Cookie Outlet Store - Purchase nationally renowned cookies fresh off the assembly line.
Address: Oshkosh Street, Ripon, WI

Larson's Famous Clydesdale Farm - Visit the farm where Clydesdales are born and trained.
Address: W12654 Reeds Corner Road, Ripon, WI
Phone: 920-748-5466

Little White School House - Visit the birthplace of the Republican Party.
Address: 303 Blackburn Street, Ripon, WI
Phone: 920-748-1444

Green Lake County Fair - The biggest little free fair in the state.
Address: Green Lake County Fairgrounds, South Street, Green Lake

Dickens of a Christmas, Downtown Ripon - Held the first weekened in December, this festival transforms the downtown shops into a Dickens era wonder complete with demonstrations and deals.
Phone: 920-748-6764 (Ripon Area Chamber of Commerce)