Ripton is a fictitious town in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

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. In 1985
Hugh Davis
brother of

Hester A. Davis Hester A. Davis (1930-2014) was an American archaeologist. Arkansas' first State Archaeologist, she was instrumental in creating national public policy and conservancy standards for cultural preservation as well as developing professional and eth ...

and a professor at the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, it ...

, along with George "Gige" Darey, a local selectman, sought to demonstrate and protest the ignorance of the state bureaucracy in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

of the rural portions of the Commonwealth. To do so, he invented the town of Ripton, supposedly founded in 1767. He then proceeded to apply for various

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and other official assistance, and the town was allotted funds in the state budget. Several checks were issued, and deposited in an

escrow account An escrow is a contractual arrangement in which a third party (the stakeholder or escrow agent) receives and disburses money or property for the primary transacting parties, with the disbursement dependent on conditions agreed to by the transacti ...

, before the

hoax A hoax is a widely publicized falsehood so fashioned as to invite reflexive, unthinking acceptance by the greatest number of people of the most varied social identities and of the highest possible social pretensions to gull its victims into pu ...

was uncovered. The funds were returned and the matter dropped. In 1985, self-appointed representatives of the town of Ripton contacted the

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...

and invited them to situate antennas for a post-

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communication system in their town. Robbins Phillips, chairman of the Board of Selectmen of Ripton, stated that the antennas would make good nesting places for eagles. Some signposts in the western portion of Massachusetts still contain "directions" to Ripton. Lawmakers in western Massachusetts have continued to humorously reference the incident in proposed state budgets.

References

External links

Signpost
in the center of Shutesbury, Massachusetts showing the distance to "Ripton."

web site. Massachusetts culture Phantom geographical features Hoaxes in the United States 20th-century hoaxes {{massachusetts-stub