[2] The county was officially organized on January 5, 1833, and is named after Brigadier General Eleazer Wheelock Ripley, a soldier who served with distinction in the War of 1812.

During the American Civil War, Ripley County was strongly pro-Southern and provided four colonels for the Confederate Army.

Tourist areas include the Current River and the Mark Twain National Forest.

Located deep in the rugged, wooded hills of Southern Missouri, the area remained sparsely settled throughout the 19th century.

Three years later, Lawrence County was established, which included all of southern Missouri west of the St. Francis River and a portion of northern Arkansas.

Since most of the population lived in the south, voters moved the county seat to the new Doniphan, where a wooden courthouse was built.

This building served the county until it was burned by Union troops, along with almost entire town of Doniphan, on September 19, 1864.

The century-old courthouse is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places and celebrated its centennial during the 1999 Labor Day Homecoming Festivities.

The major first ancestries reported in Ripley County were 34.1% American, 14.0% Irish, 11.6% German and 10.7% English.

The Republican Party mostly controls politics at the local level in Ripley County.

All of Ripley County is a part of Missouri's 153rd District and is currently represented by Steve Cookson (R-Poplar Bluff).

Smith won a special election on Tuesday, June 4, 2013, to finish out the remaining term of U.S. Representative Jo Ann Emerson (R-Cape Girardeau).

[14] Like most rural areas throughout Southeast Missouri, voters in Ripley County generally adhere to socially and culturally conservative principles which tend to influence their Republican leanings.

The proposition strongly passed every single county in Missouri with 75.94 percent voting in favor as the minimum wage was increased to $6.50 an hour in the state.

In the 2008 presidential primary, voters in Ripley County from both political parties supported candidates who finished in second place in the state at large and nationally.

Also, she received more votes, a total of 1,073, than any candidate from either party in Ripley County during the 2008 presidential primary.