The Amstrong House is significant because it is the oldest house in Ripley, county seat Jackson, and because it retains much of the character that distinguishes it as a locally significant example of Greek Revival architecture. The residence's first owner, James Am- strong, became an important citizen of mid-nineteenth century Ripley when he promoted several small industries favorable to the town's development. The Armstrong House, built c 1848, is owned (1979) by Miss Anne King, great-granddaughter of James Armstrong, and thus assumes the distinction of having returned to family hands in recent years (1970). Evidence of family history in the form of Armstrong family furnishings, including the portraits of James and Katherine Armstrong, grace the various rooms.

When James Armstrong arrived in Ripley, Virginia (West Virginia), from Beverly, Randolph County, in the early 1830's, he soon encountered one Jacob Starcher who owned much of the land in the Ripley locale. Starcher laid out much of the town of Ripley and in 1833 donated to the county property for a courthouse square. It was from Mr Starcher that James Armstrong purchased his Ripley townlots (No 5, 1843, No 49 1837) upon which a substantial two-story brick house was built c 1848.

The Armstrong House is the earliest known brick house to have been erected in Ripley. If construction and siting reflect upon Armstrong's emergence as a community figure of means. The building's location, a stone's throw east of Mill Creek Ford on North Street, the primary thoroughfare of the town in the nineteenth century, and one block west of the courthouse, gave it a special status in the slowly maturing county seat.

James Armstrong established a tannery on property to the north of his townlots in the vicinity of Sycamore Creek near the point of its confluence with Mill Creek. His interest in the Ripley area was influenced by its development potential following the creation of Jackson County in 1831 and the declaration of Ripley as the county seat in 1833. By 1847, Armstrong had purchased Jacob Starcher's water-powered sawmill and operated it until 1866. In 1870, Armstrong bought a steam sawmill from H R Hassler. These small industrial activities were significant in the rising prosperity and development of the village of Ripley. - NRHP, 2 December 1980