James H. Wilson House
The plantation was one of several homes owned by the Wilson family. It comprised more than 1,000 acres and was one of the largest in Williamson County prior to the Civil War. Records from the 1860 census show that there were 55 enslaved people at Ravenswood. The plantation contained as many as 13 cabins for enslaved people, and the Wilson family also had enslaved people at their plantations in Louisiana and Mississippi. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Wilson hosted one of the area's two Confederate training camps at his Midway Plantation, which today is the Brentwood County Club.
In 2010, the city of Brentwood purchased Ravenswood and the surrounding 325 acres, agreeing to name the resulting park as Marcella Vivrette Smith Park. In 2013, the city purchased an additional 80 acres to add to the park. It is now the largest park in Brentwood.
The property includes Greek Revival and Federal architecture. When listed on the NRHP, the property included five contributing buildings and three non-contributing buildings on an area of 52 acres (21 ha).
See also
- Beechwood Hall (the H. G. W. Mayberry House)
- Pleasant View (the Samuel F. Glass House)
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ "Tennessee Association of Vintage Base Ball » Ravenswood Mansion at Smith Park". tennesseevintagebaseball.com. Archived from the original on 2018-02-01.
- ^ "HISTORY". Ravenswood Mansion. Retrieved 2022-08-28.
- ^ Masters, Matt. "Brentwood restores Ravenswood slave cabins, remembers challenging history". Williamson Home Page. Retrieved 2022-08-28.
- ^ removed link to site on hotlist
- ^ "Marcella Vivrette Smith Park | City of Brentwood".