  Ravenna At the end of Union street, on ten acres of ground which edges a great ravine or bayou, stands Ravenna, the present home of Mrs. Richard I. Metcalf. Ravenna was built more than one hundred years ago by the Harris family. It has stood the test of time and of the tornado of 1840. It stands today in the superior dignity of perfection. The property was acquired by the family of its present owner about eighty years ago. Ravenna shows every evidence of an inherited love of flowers. This comes from Andrew Brown of “Brown’s Gardens”, and Mrs. Metcalf, a direct descendant, has expressed that inherited taste and talent in the beautification of Ravenna. The house is the large Colonial type. An outstanding feature of the interior is an exquisite stairway and a great assembly of unusual, massive antiques. The charm of Ravenna is its setting. Facing a great ravine, the old home is surrounded by flowers. A huge wisteria vine covers the front of the house with purple blossoms. The side of the place toward the town is enclosed by a high iron fence of massive design. The main entrance is through heavy iron gates that lead along the winding tulip bordered driveway to the front portico. Bordering this driveway are radiant azalea bushes and japonicas, while at certain seasons of the year the deep pink of flowering peach trees and almond trees give vivid color splotches which intensify the beauty of these grounds. A point of interesting antiquity at Ravenna is the name “Caroline Harris” scratched with a diamond into a window pane. This proves conclusively that the windows were there in 1840 when the Harrises owned Ravenna. (unlabelled) During the War Between the States the peace of Ravenna was greatly disturbed by Federal soldiers who ordered the Metcalfs to leave this home. Mrs. Metcalf was suspected of communicating with the Confederate soldiers through the bayou. Alter the war Ravenna was reclaimed and again occupied by the Metcalf family. (unlabelled) “Little Ravenna”, the cottage home of the late Mrs. Zulika Metcalf Lawrence, stands on the Ravenna grounds, as does also a palatial residence occupied by Mrs. Roan Fleming Byrnes, who is a leading spirit in promoting the great Natchez Trace highway project. This group of family homes, under the sheltering eaves of the parent home, Ravenna, eloquently bespeaks that close and lovable family life of the South as it has existed for generations. (unlabelled) The lyre motif in mirror and table is unusual. Tester bed is typical. Queen of a recent Confederate Ball, Miss Roane Adams, poses beneath the portrait of her grandmother in the drawing room of Ravenna. |
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