In 1825, James Hazard Wilson II and his wife, Emeline, moved into a large house in Brentwood that came to be known as the Ravenswood Mansion. The ornate home, with its tulip poplar floors and Italian marble fireplace, stood on a remote hill several miles outside of Nashville. In the early 19th century, it took Nashville residents a few hours by horse to reach the house, but Ravenswood still attracted dignitaries like Sam Houston – Governor of Tennessee and Texas, and the first president of the Republic of Texas. Houston, nicknamed “The Raven,” was known to sit in the house’s dining room and enjoy a meal with the Wilsons.
But as the years passed, the Brentwood home changed hands several times, and some of the luster faded from the old mansion. Then, in 1961, Reese and Marcella Vivrette Smith Jr. bought the Ravenswood Mansion, and the family spent years reviving the home, ultimately having it placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In 2010, the Smiths entered into a philanthropic agreement with the City of Brentwood, selling the home at a price below its market value. Ravenswood is now a popular event space with a long and complex history. The brick cabins behind the home remind visitors that enslaved workers likely built Ravenswood in 1825, and the enslaved lived on the property, where they tended to the animals and crops on the surrounding farmland.
On May 18, the descendants of the first and last families to live in Ravenswood – James Hazard Wilson III and Reese and Steve Smith – will join the Brentwood Historic Commission in recognizing all aspects of Ravenswood’s history by hosting a 200th anniversary celebration of the home.
The free event, from 1-5 p.m. that Sunday, will feature live music, a DJ, food trucks, inflatables, face-painting, and balloon artists. At 2 p.m., a parade will take place on the roads surrounding the mansion, and throughout the day, members of the Wilson and Smith families will speak about living in the home.
At 2:30 p.m., Brentwood Historic Commission members will give tours of the mansion and the enslaved cabins behind Ravenswood.
For more information on Ravenswood history, including how the home is named in honor of Sam Houston, visit
https://www.ravenswoodmansion.com/history.
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