Solomon Ripinsky was born into a well-to-do Jewish family on April 15,1859 at Rypin, Poland, near Strassburg, Prussia. He attended private schools, receiving a good background in painting, calligraphy, and drafting, and he graduated from a military academy with the rank of second lieutenant in the cavalry. Too young to serve in the Polish Lancers, Sol traveled to the United States, touring the eastern states and winding his way to Shreveport, Louisiana. There he held a job in merchandising for a short time. When yellow fever swept the South, young Ripinsky became ill and moved to the West for his health. Details of the years between his landing on American shores, probably in 1877, to the time he opened an artist’s studio in Sacramento, California, are sketchy. More is known of the six years he stayed in Oregon. While living in Salem, he joined a number of lodges. He joined the state militia, became a colonel—a title he kept the rest of his life—and served as aid-de-camp to Governor W. W. Thayer. In Oregon he became a friend with Max Pracht, a principal in the Loring salmon cannery in Southeastern Alaska and later collector of customs for Alaska.

Solomon Ripinsky receiving citizenship 1910

Ripinsky’s urge to travel brought him north with the expedition of Lt. Frederick Schwatka on its way to explore the Yukon River, but old timers say Ripinsky came along as Schwatka’s friend. In 1884, he went to Sitka, Alaska, and worked as a law clerk to E. W. Haskett, U.S. Attorney there. The following year he was appointed by Dr. Sheldon Jackson, commissioner of education, to go to Kodiak as teacher in the new Presbyterian Church School. He left Sitka on September 7, 1885, aboard a sailing craft that subsequently was caught in a heavy gale. While it was beached for repairs at Killisnoo, Ripinsky returned to Sitka by canoe with the Tlingit owner. The Bonita, the next ship sailing westward, would not touch Kodiak, so Dr. Sheldon Jackson changed Ripinsky’s assignment to Unalaska, where he stayed a year.

the Ripinsky Store display at the Sheldon Museum

Sol’s next assignment brought him to Haines, where he taught in the Old Log School during 1886 and 1887. After school was out, Ripinsky took the job as storekeeper for the Alaska Packers Association at their Pyramid Harbor cannery. He moved to Chilkat village on the east side of the inlet in 1890 to work for Frank Poindexter at the Chilkat Canning Company. At the same time he ran his own small trading post and the Chilkat Post Office. In 1893, Alaska Packers bought out the Chilkat Canning Company and closed it, keeping Ripinsky as caretaker. He continued as Chilkat postmaster until the post office closed in 1899. Probably at that time, Chilkat Cannery was dismantled and Ripinsky moved his store into Haines. In Haines he was joined by his younger brother Morris Ripin, Morris’ wife and daughter. Ripinsky explained that the custom in Poland was to add "sky" to the name of the oldest son. In 1920, shortly before Ripin’s death, Solomon bought back the business.

Ripinsky was involved in political developments in the town and territory. In 1899, he was elected delegate to a non-partisan convention in Sitka held for the purpose of requesting territorial government for Alaska. When the district convention met in Juneau on October 9, 1899, he introduced the resolution requesting Congress to enact such legislation, which became a reality in 1912. (A copy or the resolution is on file in the Sheldon Museum.) In Haines, he was a notary, lawyer, and U.S. Commissioner. Examples of his ornately handwritten deeds and other legal papers are in the Museum. He was active in the Pioneers of Alaska, and he held the thirty-second degree in the Masonic Lodge.

In 1897, Ripinsky started action against "squatters" on land he claimed, land that eventually became the Haines townsite. Decisions, reversals, and appeals continued until January 1913, when he gained title to his house and garden (Lot 27, Block 1, Haines Townsite), considerably less than he expected. The appeals consumed the fortune he had brought from Poland, and he lived his last years in near poverty on a small pension from the Territory of Alaska.

Sol Ripinsky is recalled as a fair-dealing man. He was highly regarded by local residents who named the 3600-foot mountain above the townsite Mt. Ripinsky. (Often the name is misspelled on area maps.) Some residents remember him and recall anecdotes about him. A period office exhibit in the Museum displays some of his personal belongings. In the files are fine examples of his beautiful penmanship, several of his poems, and his diary written from 1903-1905. Sol Ripinsky never married. He died of pneumonia on March 21,1927. A Masonic funeral service was held for him, and he is buried in the cemetery at Jones Point. Exact location of the gravesite is unknown.

 

For further information on Historical Individuals of Haines please view the following links:
Charles H. Anway • Dalton Trail • Francina E. Haines • Steve Sheldon

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Sheldon Museum & Cultural Center, Inc.
Box 269, Haines, AK
99827 - Phone: (907) 766-2366
museumdirector@aptalaska.net