Rippetoe

Transcribed from Caldwell County Heritage Book. Information from Lenoir News-Topic

Rippetoe Mountain.

The name rolls of the tongue like a unique and obscure place found in a history book.

yet, there is nothing obscure about Rippetoe Mountain, although it has its unique place in the history of Caldwell County.

Captain William Rippetoe of Albemarle County, Virginia, had just finished his tour of duty as a Revolutionary War soldier when he came to the county to settle on the side of a mountain that has a flat, bald top, surrounded by lush evergreens, and still providing a beautiful view.

According to historian Randy Gibson, Capt Rippetoe resided on the side of the mountain, which is located in the Baton community just off Orchard Drive, long enough to raise his daughters Elizabeth and Mary and his son, David. He had secured numerous acres as a land grant from the state.

When Capt Rippetoe left the county in 1804, he left his property to son David, who in turn left it to his son Albert, a Civil War veteran.

Before David left for Alabama, however, his sister, Mary, had married John Bush, the head of the Bush clan, which numbers in the hundreds, both in Caldwell County and several states.

While the Rippetoes still owned the mountain, they built a small school at the foot for children of the area to gain some formal education. Before long, the Bush family began to have reunions at the site. Thus, that section of the property was deeded to the Bush family to be held forever as a reunion site.