SITE NAME
Ripshin

COMMEMORATED BY
Virginia Landmarks Register
38-08
March 2, 1971

National Register of Historic Places
September 22, 1971

National Historic Landmark
November 11, 1971

LOCATION
Ripshin Road
Troutedale
Grayson County

DESCRIPTION
Sherwood Anderson built this home in 1927 and spent the last 14 years of his life in Grayson County. There he managed two newspapers in nearby Marion. Anderson is most well-known for his collection of connected short stories called Winesburg, Ohio. The protagonist in the 1919 book, like Anderson, was a newspaperman bearing witness to the goings-on of small-town America.

TEXT OF ENTRY ON VIRGINIA LANDMARKS REGISTER
"Author Sherwood Anderson (1876-1941) had this rustic but comfortable log and stone dwelling built after visiting Grayson County in 1925 and falling in love with its breathtaking unspoiled landscape. The house, completed in 1927, was designed by Anderson 's architect-friend James Spratling of New Orleans. The property was named for a nearby creek. A native of Ohio , Anderson regarded Ripshin as his home and lived here until his death. Anderson's most memorable writings included Winesburg, Ohio; Poor White; Many Marriages; and Memories. These and others of his books and short stories were part of the American school of realism. While he lived at Ripshin, Anderson served as publisher, editor, and reporter for two Marion, Va., newspapers. The house, inside and out, has changed little since Anderson lived here" (VLR 198).