 As Republicans are gathering in Milwaukee for the RNC, we're about an hour and a half west in Ripon, Wisconsin. This is Mandy Kimes, the Executive Director of the local Chamber of Commerce. Mandy, what is this building we're in? We are standing in the Little White Schoolhouse, the birthplace of the Republican Party. This building has been here for 171 years, and 170 years ago is when the first local Republican meeting took place and where the party began.