The ragtime era lasted from 1897-1917, framed by the first published ragtime works in 1897 and lasting until Scott Joplin's death in 1917. So you can see that 1997 was a big year for ragtime, marking the centennial of the beginning of this fascinating era. The piece acknowledged to be the first published ragtime composition was Mississippi Rag by William Krell, in February 1897. It's a rather stodgy "patrol" (a ragtime sub-genre in which the composer re-creates how a minstrel band would sound as it paraded by you, say standing on Main Street in Sedalia, Missouri). But it's the first piece to have the word "Rag" in its title.