BlockFrom the record
One of 343 National Register listings published here for Franklin County · listed in 1980 · category: Building.
Sources: the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service
Ripley House
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. 10 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1901.
The listing
- What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building as contributing to the listing.
- Address. 623 High St., Worthington, 43085
- When was it listed? 1980-04-17
- Category. building
- Also known as. Worthington MRA
- City. Columbus city
- Architectural style. Federal architecture
- National Register reference number. 80003015 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.
Then and now
1901 to 1992The ground this property stands on, surveyed 91 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.
What happened here
An account from the chapter on Columbus city. The inset identifies its exact source book and publication year.
Beginnings Of Ohio
The Mound Builders and Indians - First White Settlements and Struggle for Possession - Indian Village at the Forks of the Scioto Attacked by Crawford and Dispersed - The Ohio Company, the Scioto Company and Symmes Purchase - Indian Power Broken and British Hopes Blasted - First Surveys - Topography, Geology and Soil of Franklin County.
The ground it stands on
895,918 wordsThe chapter on Columbus City in History of Franklin County [Ohio]:, published 1858 names Worthington. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.
In February, 1810, the Legislature, desirous to establish a more central and permanent seat of government for the State, by joint resolution appointed five commissioners, namely James Findlay, W. Silliman, Joseph Darlinton, Reisin Beall and Wm. McFarland, to meet in Franklinton on the first day of September, then following, to examine and select the most eligible site for the estab- lishment of the permanent seat of government for the State. On December 11th, 1810, the commissioners made their report and say, " That they have diligently examined a number of different places within the circle prescribed, and the majority of said commissioners are of opinion that a tract of land, owned by John and Peter Sells, situated on the west bank of the Scioto River, four miles and three quarters west of the town of Worthington, in the county of Franklin, and on which said Sells now resides, appears to them the most eligible."^^ Dated at Newark, the 12th of September, 1810, and signed by all the commissioners.
Passage source: History of Franklin County [Ohio]:, published 1858.
No further definite action, however, was had on the subject until February, 1812, when the law was passed establishing it at Columbus. Various proposals were received, offering inducements for its establishment at different points, and amongst the rest were the proposals of Lyne Starling, James Johnston, Alexander McLaughlin and John Kerr, for establishing it on the '-' high bank of the Scioto River, opposite Franklinton," which site was principally a native forest. Franklinton was then at its apex, and a town of considerably more consequence than it now is, and was one of the sites proposed ; but the plan upon which it was laid out, and more particularly its low situation, were considered sufficient objections to its adoption. Worthington and Delaware were also among the sites proposed.
Passage source: History of Franklin County [Ohio]:, published 1858.
Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.
Read the whole chapter on Columbus City - 895,918 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.
Specimens collected near this property
12 of 10,276 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 10,276 specimens collected within 10 miles of Ripley House between 1804 and 1975: 8,280 Animalia, 1,275 Fungi, 573 Plantae, 117 Chromista, 30 Unrecorded, 1 Protozoa. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by 19 V 1938 in original publication, Knull, =, ? and others. Each is a physical object with a catalogue number, and each entry opens the museum's record. This is what was collected and kept, not a survey of what lives here - nothing can be concluded from a species being absent.
| Image | Species | Year | Collected by | Where, as recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Cintractia sorghi (Sorokīn) De Toni | 1900 | Tyler, F.J.; O. E. Jennings | Columbus |
 | Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench | 1900 | Jennings, O.E. | Columbus, Ohio. |
 | Juniperus virginiana var. virginiana | 1804 | Dr. Paddock | Worthington |
 | Platanthera psycodes (L.) Lindl. | 1805 | J. R. Paddock | Worthington |
 | Carex comosa Boott | 1809 | Collector unknown | Worthington, O. [Inferred county from precise loc.] |
 | Hirundo Linnaeus, 1758 | 1814 | not recorded | Columbus Ohio, Franklin, Ohio, USA |
 | Callimome strobiloides Huber, 1927 | 1821 | C. Huber | Columbus |
 | Solidago riddellii Frank | 1832 | W. A. Kellerman | A few miles N of Columbus. |
 | Carex lupulina Muhl. ex Willd. | 1834 | Anonymous | Columbus. |
 | Anomodon viticulosus (Hedw.) Hook. & Taylor | 1837 | W. S. Sullivant | Near Columbus |
 | Acris crepitans blanchardi Harper, 1947 | 1897 | not recorded | No Further Locality Data |
| Albugo candida (Pers. ex J.F.Gmel.) Roussel | 1897 | Clevenger, J. F. | Columbus |
All 10,276 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
Storms near this property
11 since 1996Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Worthington, the town this property stands in, in 11 storm reports between 1996 and 2022: 5 thunderstorm wind, 3 hail, 2 flood, 1 heavy rain. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Worthington | $10,000 | Numerous trees were downed on Northland and Proprietors roads due to damaging thunderstorm winds. |
| May 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Worthington | $10,000 | Winds gusted to 70 mph across the northern part of the county causing downed trees and power lines. |
| June 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Worthington | $10,000 | no account filed |
| July 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Worthington | $5,000 | no account filed |
| July 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Worthington | $3,000 | A few large trees were downed. |
| August 2022 | Flood | Worthington | - | High water was reported on Karl Road. |
| May 2020 | Flood | Worthington | - | Underpass flooding was reported along State Route 161 between Huntley and Proprietors Roads. |
| June 2013 | Heavy Rain | Worthington | - | The left 2 lanes and shoulder of Interstate 270 west at Interstate 71 had approximately 6 to 8 inches of water across it due to heavy rainfall. |
| March 2012 | Hail | Worthington | - | no account filed |
| June 2011 | Hail | Worthington | - | no account filed |
| May 2003 | Hail | Worthington | - | no account filed |
Maps showing this location
10 surveysUnited States Geological Survey topographic sheets whose coverage includes this point. Matched by taking the coordinate the National Park Service records for this property, then testing that coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet.
- 1901 USGS Dublin quadrangle1:62500
- 1903 USGS Dublin quadrangle1:62500 - 2 printings
- 1950 USGS Marion quadrangle1:250000
- 1955 USGS Northwest Columbus quadrangle1:24000 - 2 printings
- 1962 USGS Marion quadrangle1:250000
- 1965 USGS Northwest Columbus quadrangle1:24000 - 3 printings
- 1966 USGS Marion quadrangle1:250000 - 3 printings
- 1986 USGS Bellefontaine quadrangle1:100000
- 1992 USGS Bellefontaine quadrangle1:100000
- 1995 USGS Northwest Columbus quadrangle1:24000 - 2 printings
From the nomination file
553 words on recordWhen this property was proposed for the National Register, someone wrote the case for it: what the building is, and why it matters. That document is a federal record in the public domain. It is reproduced in full on its own page, word for word and never summarised. The text was read off the scanned case file by machine, so the occasional stray character is the recogniser's and the 1970s typewriter's.
The whole case file for this property - 553 words, 7 pages, reproduced complete.
Quoted from the National Register nomination for reference 80003015, 7 pages, held by the National Archives in Record Group 79. See the catalogue record.
Listed places nearby
6 within 8 milesOther National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.
| Photograph | Property | Distance | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Doctor Longenecker Office Building | under 500 feet | 1990 |
 | New England Lodge | under 500 feet | 1973 |
 | Principal's Cottage | under 500 feet | 1980 |
 | John Snow House | under 500 feet | 1973 |
 | Hotel Central | under 500 feet | 1980 |
 | Worthington Historical Society Museum | 0.1 miles | 1980 |
Sources for this property
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 80003015 in Record Group 79. |
| Franklin County | All 343 listed properties in this county. |
Provenance
- Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
- Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
- How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
- Specimens. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), https://www.gbif.org/. Only records licensed CC0 or CC BY are used. Records licensed CC BY-NC are excluded because this site carries advertising. Images are checked individually and any whose licence is non-commercial, no-derivatives or unreadable is refused.
- Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.