Ripton, Massachusetts: Fake Town That Was a Hoax

Pranks are one thing, but what happened to the state legislature of Massachusetts is a whole other level of trickery.

But it wasn't really trickery, it was more like getting a quiet part of the state noticed.

That's what happened in the early 1980's, when a group of residents from Western Massachusetts felt overlooked by the lawmakers on Beacon Hill.  It's a classic "country versus city" scenario, whereby these friends decided to create a fake town.

They took it even further by having town stationery created for the fake town of "Ripton, Massachusetts".

George Darey, of Lenox and chair of the state’s Fisheries and Wildlife Board, forged with some of his conservationist friends to create a fake town, and submitted a complaint that the town of 'Ripton' was invaded with Boston hunters and grumbling that trout had not been stocked in the town pond (called Darey's Pond, ironically).

Berkshire Natural Resources Council cofounder George Wislocki and Lenox Land Trust cofounder Sarah “Sally’’ Bell, were in on the scam too, according to Boston.com.

That's when things got interesting.

In 1984, the State Budget including funding for the Town of Ripton, awarding a total of $60,000 for riverbank fortification and cleanup of Darey's Pond (again, not a real place).

It was passed by the state House and Senate and then signed by the Governor.

The point of this deception was to prove the lawmakers do not pay attention to the small towns outside of the Boston metro region, especially in the Western part of Massachusetts.  Touché'.  It worked.

So what went wrong?  Nothing, but the state revenue department couldn't find the town of Ripton to deposit the funds.  With 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts, they're hard to keep track of, but hey, state officials, it's your job!

In 1985, the state figured out the hoax when the U.S. Air Force was surveying Ripton as a possible site for a radar installation.  They looked but could not find the town of Ripton, and that's when the group was outed.

The Berkshire group had their point proven with no repercussions except a great story, and a place Western Massachusetts folklore.