From the desk of Alison Gibson, Director
Last, for now, picture of the Proctor K. Smiley. Rather than the entire photo, we clipped the part that best shows Front and Market Streets. You can even see a bit of the Sherman House hotel building on Market Street (think behind the laundry mat). That might be the hotel’s stable barn next to the hotel—still used in 1910 for ‘feeding and hitching’ purposes. To view the entire picture, the link is https://search.library.wisc.edu/…/full/AMS7N37ZXWGHAA8Y
We once again thank the Murphy Library Special Collections/ARC, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
On our earliest Sanborn maps (1884) the Sherman House is clearly marked. Looking at the clipping from the September 14, 1910 Ripley Bee, it appears that it had been in business for quite a while–In discussing the sale of the Sherman House, the article says “The Weland (or Weiand) family have owned and almost continually occupied this property for nearly fifty years, and during that time have built up for it a name and fame as a hospitable, home-like hostelry that extend far and wide.
The advertisement for the sale of the hotel in 1904 says “it is a fine two-story and basement brick building, with metal roof, containing fourteen rooms, including the office and large dining room—there is a large and new stable attached,… 3 fine cisterns and improved outbuildings. The newly completed Ohio River and Columbus railway passes directly past the house, making it a model place for that trade. The Sherman House has been running for over fifty years and has an established first-class Ohio river and country business. So while the building itself is currently unoccupied, it has been a part of the Ripley fabric for a very long time.
It is almost ‘that time’ for the Ohio Rural Heritage Festival to take place on August 22-24. The Ripley library will close at 5:00 on Friday the 23rd and be closed on Saturday the 24th during this event. Our branches will be open regular hours, so if you need a library ‘fix’, Aberdeen and Russellville will be able to assist. Sorry for the inconvenience.
