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Ripley, Martha George (1843–1912)

Ripley, Martha George (1843–1912)

Creator:
Contributor: Minnesota Historical Society Press
Source: Minnesota 150 (F606 .R63 2007)
Dr. Martha George Rogers Ripley
Dr. Martha George Rogers Ripley, c.1905. Photograph by Marcus W. Owens.

When Dr. Martha Ripley and her family moved to Minneapolis in 1883, she had just completed medical training at Boston University School of Medicine. At forty-one, though, she was no newcomer to the medical profession.

Born in Vermont in 1843, she was introduced to medicine through nursing victims of diphtheria epidemics. She tried to work as a nurse during the Civil War but was judged too young, and so she recruited others to nursing instead. After her marriage to William Ripley in 1867, the couple moved to Massachusetts, where she continued nursing while also embarking on her lifelong involvement in the woman suffrage movement. After a young child in her care died of croup, she enrolled in medical school.

Ripley established Maternity Hospital in Minneapolis in 1886. At that time, unwed mothers were generally denied hospital admission. Ripley's hospital was open to any woman, regardless of her marital or financial status. As the hospital grew, so did its services. It housed destitute children and unwed mothers and their infants; it provided adoption services; and it provided training and job assistance for single mothers.

From 1883 to 1889, Ripley was president of the Minnesota Woman Suffrage Association. Throughout her life, she was an outspoken advocate for women. She insisted that there be matrons on the Minneapolis police force; she lobbied for the right of female domestic workers to unionize; and she pushed for public health reforms, including better sanitation and clean water. She wore her skirts and hair short to minimize the spread of disease. Her hospital had an enviable rate of infant mortality—only twenty-five percent that of the national average.

Martha Ripley died in 1912, just as her new hospital on Minneapolis's Glenwood Avenue was being completed. The hospital buildings, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, were renovated in 2007 to provide rental and housing units for low- and moderate-income residents.
Cite
Roberts, Kate. "Ripley, Martha George (1843–1912)." MNopedia, Minnesota Historical Society. https://www3.mnhs.org/mnopedia/search/index/person/ripley-martha-george-1843-1912
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First Published: July 21, 2011
Last Modified: April 11, 2025

Related Resources

Primary

"Dr. Martha Ripley Called: Devoted Life to Hospital." Minneapolis Tribune, April 19, 1912.

Ripley Memorial Foundation Hospital and Foundation Records, 1887–1997
Manuscript Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
http://www2.mnhs.org/library/findaids/00467.xml
Description: Minutes, annual reports, statistics, news clippings, and other records relating to the administration and activities of Maternity Hospital and the Ripley Memorial Foundation.

Secondary

Foster, Mary Dillon. Who's Who Among Minnesota Women. St. Paul: M.D. Foster, 1924.

Hammes, E.M. "The Minnesota Centennial, Its Medical History." Minnesota Medicine 32, no. 8 (August 1949): 797–805.

Martha G. Ripley, M.D. [Minneapolis, 1939].

Maternity Hospital, 1887–1937. [Minneapolis, 1937].

Roberts, Kate. Minnesota 150: The People, Places, and Things that Shape Our State. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2007.

Solberg, Winton U. "Martha G. Ripley: Pioneer Doctor and Social Reformer." Minnesota History 39, no. 1 (Spring 1964): 1–17.
http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/39/v39i01p001-017.pdf

———. "Ripley, Martha George Rogers." In Notable American Women 1607-1950: A Biographical Dictionary, vol. 3, edited by Edward T. James, 162-163. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1971.

Stuhler, Barbara. "Organizing for the Vote: Leaders of Minnesota's Woman Suffrage Movement." Minnesota History 54, no. 7 (Fall 1995): 290–303.
http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/54/v54i07p290-303.pdf

Zamith, Rodrigo. "Ripley Gardens Grows on You." Minneapolis Star Tribune, May 23, 2008.

Web

The Minnesota Historical Society's National Register Properties. Maternity Hospital.
http://nrhp.mnhs.org/NRDetails.cfm?NPSNum=80002069

Related Audio

MN90: Dr. Martha Ripley, an Early Champion for Women's Rights | Details

MN90: Dr. Martha Ripley, an Early Champion for Women's Rights

Martha Ripley was a nurse by training when she moved to Minneapolis with her husband in 1883. Her expertise in medical care and her commitment to the rights of some of the city's destitute young mothers led to her to open a hospital dedicated to their care. Allison Herrera tells us about her remarkable life.
© AMPERS    

All rights reserved

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Articles

Related Images

Dr. Martha George Rogers Ripley
Dr. Martha George Rogers Ripley, c.1905. Photograph by Marcus W. Owens.
Martha George Rogers Ripley
Martha George Rogers Ripley, c.1868.
Martha George Ripley, M.D.
Martha George Ripley, M.D., c.1890. Engraver: Samuel Sartain.
Dr. Martha George Rogers Ripley

Dr. Martha George Rogers Ripley

Dr. Martha George Rogers Ripley, c.1905. Photograph by Marcus W. Owens.

Public domain

Holding Location

Minnesota Historical Society

Articles

More Information

Martha George Rogers Ripley

Martha George Rogers Ripley

Martha George Rogers Ripley, c.1868.

Public domain

Holding Location

Minnesota Historical Society

Articles

More Information

Martha George Ripley, M.D.

Martha George Ripley, M.D.

Martha George Ripley, M.D., c.1890. Engraver: Samuel Sartain.

Public domain

Holding Location

Minnesota Historical Society

Articles

More Information

Related Articles

Turning Point

In 1886, Dr. Martha Ripley founds the influential Maternity Hospital in Minneapolis, which accepts all women as patients, regardless of their marital or financial status.

Chronology

1843
Martha George Ripley is born in Vermont.
1867
Martha marries William Ripley and the couple later moves to Massachusetts.
1883
Ripley and her family move to Minneapolis, just after she completes medical training at Boston University School of Medicine.
1886
She establishes Maternity Hospital in Minneapolis. It was open to any woman.
1889
Ripley serves her last year as president of the Minnesota Woman Suffrage Association.
1912
Ripley dies, just as her new hospital on Minneapolis's Glenwood Avenue is being completed.

Related Resources

Primary

"Dr. Martha Ripley Called: Devoted Life to Hospital." Minneapolis Tribune, April 19, 1912.

Ripley Memorial Foundation Hospital and Foundation Records, 1887–1997
Manuscript Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
http://www2.mnhs.org/library/findaids/00467.xml
Description: Minutes, annual reports, statistics, news clippings, and other records relating to the administration and activities of Maternity Hospital and the Ripley Memorial Foundation.

Secondary

Foster, Mary Dillon. Who's Who Among Minnesota Women. St. Paul: M.D. Foster, 1924.

Hammes, E.M. "The Minnesota Centennial, Its Medical History." Minnesota Medicine 32, no. 8 (August 1949): 797–805.

Martha G. Ripley, M.D. [Minneapolis, 1939].

Maternity Hospital, 1887–1937. [Minneapolis, 1937].

Roberts, Kate. Minnesota 150: The People, Places, and Things that Shape Our State. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2007.

Solberg, Winton U. "Martha G. Ripley: Pioneer Doctor and Social Reformer." Minnesota History 39, no. 1 (Spring 1964): 1–17.
http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/39/v39i01p001-017.pdf

———. "Ripley, Martha George Rogers." In Notable American Women 1607-1950: A Biographical Dictionary, vol. 3, edited by Edward T. James, 162-163. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1971.

Stuhler, Barbara. "Organizing for the Vote: Leaders of Minnesota's Woman Suffrage Movement." Minnesota History 54, no. 7 (Fall 1995): 290–303.
http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/54/v54i07p290-303.pdf

Zamith, Rodrigo. "Ripley Gardens Grows on You." Minneapolis Star Tribune, May 23, 2008.

Web

The Minnesota Historical Society's National Register Properties. Maternity Hospital.
http://nrhp.mnhs.org/NRDetails.cfm?NPSNum=80002069