Ravenswood Mansion in Brentwood was established after James Hazard Wilson II, a wealthy slave-owner of 55 people, purchased hundreds of acres and began construction in 1825, and as on most southern plantations of the period, the land was likely cleared, materials fashioned, and the house built by enslaved labor. By 1850, the Wilsons enslaved 39 people in Brentwood, and in 1860, the last census before the Civil War, James Hazard Wilson II was recorded as enslaving 55 people. Because most were listed only by gender and age in census slave schedules, many names are unknown, but wills and Wilson family transaction documents preserve some names, including Rose and her children Solomon, Henry, Jefferson, Nelson, Ruthy, Orph, and Sophia; Tilly and her children Nancy, Canton, Lissy, Stephen, Bonapart, Marcus, Carrot, and Lindy; and Aunt Mary Jo, Solomon, Betsy, Stephen, Lucy, Sam, Smithey, Becky, Burnet, Anderson, Washington, Lewis, Silvy, Landon, Jackson, and Granville. At Ravenswood, enslaved people performed much if not all of the labor that supported James Hazard Wilson's renowned mules, thoroughbred horses, other agricultural stock, sheep, swine, and crops such as Indian corn and oats. Their quarters consisted of eight log cabins, two brick cabins, and a brick two-story detached kitchen; the kitchen, which may have housed the plantation cook and her family, was demolished in 2016 because of instability. Two brick cabins still stand with plastered interior walls, poplar wood floors, and fireplaces, and they likely housed people closely associated with the family or needing frequent access to the main house, while the more distant log cabins likely housed those doing agricultural work such as field labor and crop maintenance. During Reconstruction, many formerly enslaved people adopted the surnames of former owners, as with Nelson Wilson Sr., son of Rose, and in December 1865, days after the 13th Amendment was ratified, Nelson and his wife Lucreasey legally married in Williamson County. Since the City of Brentwood acquired the land in 2010, preserving Ravenswood Mansion and the remaining brick cabins has been a priority, and in 2019 the city spent nearly $150,000 to restore the cabins so future generations could learn this history; in 2020, that restoration received the Preserve on Through Restoration Award from the Heritage Foundation of Williamson County.