The city of Rippey will soon have a new exhibit as a mural depicting the events in the 150-year history of the town is under construction. While the 150th celebration was postponed until June of 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, the mural is being painted on the side of the Rolling Hills Bank by Sarah Stott, native Greene Countian and Greene County Community Schools art educator.
Stott was commissioned by the Friends of Rippey to paint the mural. Her talent as a muralist is also evident at the Cooper weigh station along the Racoon River Valley Trail.
When completed the center attraction will be a railroad engine, for that is the reason Rippey was moved to its present location. Fifteen years prior to moving to the railroad line, the original town and first settlement in Greene County was located along the Raccoon River about three miles southwest of where it is now.
A “history clock” will show the important economic and social institutions that were instrumental to the town, including the school, church, library, as well as mining and agriculture businesses. A close inspection to the right of the mural shows a baseball uniform, bat, and glove, as Rippey was a “baseball town.”
Funded by the Greene County Community Foundation along with a donation by the Rolling Hills Bank, it will be an artistic as well as an historical artifact for the community.
The Friends of Rippey expressed appreciation to the Rolling Hills Bank and the Greene County Community Foundation for their financial assistance in this endeavor.
The Rippey Sesquicentennial is planned for Saturday, June 5, 2021.
