09/22/2026
DAY 16 of 30 DAYS OF HISTORY: HISTORIC FAMILIES
100 years ago, families left their mark on this community. Today, you can leave yours.
Every town has families whose stories are woven into its history. In French Lick, the Ritter family is one of them.
The story begins with John Alexander Ritter, born in Kentucky in 1819. By the mid-1800s, he had become a prominent figure in Orange County, serving as a physician, lawyer, postmaster of Orangeville, and political voice in the community.
When the Civil War began, John answered the call. He served in the Union Army with the 49th Indiana Infantry from 1861–1863, serving as the regiment’s surgeon. Throughout the war, he wrote letters home to his wife, Margaret, and the family carefully preserved them for generations.
John and Margaret raised 11 children, many of whom would go on to leave their own mark on the Springs Valley.
One of their sons, Dr. John A. Ritter Jr., opened the Ritter House in West Baden in the 1890s. The business combined a hotel and drug store, and the Ritter brothers also produced and marketed West Baden Mineral Water tablets and other medical products across the country.
Another son, William Vontress Ritter, eventually became a licensed mortician and opened a furniture store in the Dickason Building in downtown French Lick in 1908.
By 1930, William V. Ritter and his son, William Oliver Ritter, had constructed a three-story yellow-brick building at Maple Street and College Avenue. The furniture store occupied the first floor, while the upper floors provided storage and family apartments. A funeral parlor operated from the rear entrance on Maple Street.
The Ritter business remained part of French Lick for decades.
In 1959, the funeral parlor moved to a home farther up Maple Street, where they later added a larger parlor, lounge, and garage. The business was eventually sold in 1974 and continued as the Ritter-Taber Funeral Home.
The next generation carried the family story forward.
Gerald Weil Ritter, born in 1913, grew up in French Lick and married school teacher Loraine Dixon. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Navy as a Pharmacist’s Mate, 3rd Class.
Their only son, Gerald William Ritter, was born in 1945. After graduating from Springs Valley High School in 1963, he attended Hanover College and later earned both a master's degree and a PhD from Oklahoma State University. He spent decades teaching psychology at Alcorn State University before retiring and returning home to French Lick.
Back in his hometown, Dr. Ritter continued to give back to the community, serving on the boards of organizations including the French Lick West Baden Museum, Melton Public Library, and Springs Valley Education Foundation.
When Dr. Ritter passed away in 2020, he left behind more than a family name.
His collection of family photographs, genealogy, artifacts, documents, and stories was entrusted to the French Lick West Baden Museum.
That's exactly why preserving local history matters.
A name that once appeared on a business, a letter, a piece of furniture, a military uniform, or a family photograph can become part of a community's permanent story.
Today, the Ritter family is remembered not only through the places they built and the businesses they operated, but through the stories and collections that remain with us.
Their family left a mark on French Lick.
You can leave yours, too.
🧱 Our Brick Paver Campaign gives families, businesses, organizations, and individuals the opportunity to become a permanent part of the museum. Whether you choose a family name, memorial, business, class, anniversary, or simply a message that says “I love French Lick,” your brick becomes part of the museum’s story.
And every brick helps us continue preserving stories like the Ritters for the next generation.
✨ Want to help preserve local history?
Become a member, support the museum, or purchase your own brick paver:
👉 www.flwbmuseum.com/membership-donations
Your story belongs here, too.
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Sponsored by Springs Valley Bank & Trust Company
Supported by Timeless French Lick
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