diff --git a/rippled-example.cfg b/rippled-example.cfg
index 0bbd0f5dd..7234df1a1 100644
--- a/rippled-example.cfg
+++ b/rippled-example.cfg
@@ -109,6 +109,12 @@
 #   Examples:  RASH BUSH MILK LOOK BAD BRIM AVID GAFF BAIT ROT POD LOVE
 #              shfArahZT9Q9ckTf3s1psJ7C7qzVN
 #
+# [ledger_history]:
+#   To serve clients, servers need historical ledger data. This sets the number of
+#   past ledgers to acquire on server startup and the minimum to maintain while
+#   running. Servers that don't need to serve clients can set this to "none".
+#   Servers that want complete history can set this to "full".
+#   The default is 256 ledgers
 
 [peer_ip]
 0.0.0.0
diff --git a/src/cpp/ripple/Config.cpp b/src/cpp/ripple/Config.cpp
index 0304de7b4..4701634fb 100644
--- a/src/cpp/ripple/Config.cpp
+++ b/src/cpp/ripple/Config.cpp
@@ -296,9 +296,9 @@ void Config::load()
 			if (sectionSingleB(secConfig, SECTION_LEDGER_HISTORY, strTemp))
 			{
 				boost::to_lower(strTemp);
-				if ((strTemp == "no") || (strTemp == "none") || (strTemp == "off") || (strTemp == "false"))
+				if (strTemp == "none")
 					LEDGER_HISTORY = 0;
-				else if ((strTemp == "yes") || (strTemp == "full") || (strTemp == "on") || (strTemp == "-1"))
+				else if (strTemp == "full")
 					LEDGER_HISTORY = 1000000000u;
 				else
 					LEDGER_HISTORY = boost::lexical_cast<uint32>(strTemp);