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 McRaven House was built c. 1797 by Andrew Glass, a highwayman, in a town called Walnut Hills (now Vicksburg) before Mississippi was a state.  It was first built as a two-room brick structure with one bedroom above the kitchen, and a removable ladder to prevent an ambush while he slept. The blueberry and buttermilk plaster still adorn the walls. Mr. Glass would rob people traveling the Natchez Trace and hide out in McRaven. His surprising death became the start of McRaven's haunting.

 The second portion of McRaven was built in 1836 when Sheriff Stephen Howard bought the home for himself and his pregnant (15 year old) wife. He enclosed a patio, creating a stairway and added a bedroom, a dining room, and a two-story covered porch. Built in the Empire period, this portion of the house was simple but decorative touches. In August of the same year, Sheriff Howard lost his young wife, Mary Elizabeth, during childbirth. She passed away in the middle bedroom, and her spirit is the most active ghost in the house to this day. Mary Elizabeth has been known to greet guests by playing pranks, and her apparition is seen in various rooms throughout the house.  Some of her personal belongings are still in the home. 

The third portion of the house was built in the Greek Revival style by John H. Bobb in 1849. He was a prominent brick manufacturer and sawmill owner. Mr. Bobb built an elegant parlor, master bedroom, men's changing area, flying wing staircase and an Italianate facade with "Vicksburg pillars."  ​In the Civil War era, it was known as the Bobb House, and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as such. 

During the Civil War and the siege of Vicksburg, Bobb turned the home into a field hospital and campground for the Confederate troops. Because the of its close proximity to the battles raging in the city, it was riddled with cannon blasts, but was still able to act as a shelter for fallen soldiers. Unfortunately, in 1864, Bobb was shot in the back and face, and fatally wounded by Union troops just 100 yards from his home and makeshift hospital. In 1869, his widow sold the house to a realtor and moved to a family plantation outside of New Orleans.

Eventually in 1882, the home was sold to William Murray and his wife Ellen. They had four daughters and three sons. Lamentably, four of the Murray's would die in the residence between 1911 and 1950. After that, ownership passed to the two remaining daughters, Ella and Annie, who had never married. They lived in the home with no modern conveniences, until 1960, when Ella died at the age of 81, and Annie moved to a care facility. By that time it had become overgrown and fallen into disrepair. The spirits of Mr. Murray and the two unmarried daughters are said to haunt the grounds to this day.

It was purchased by a restoration company from Annie in 1960. They did much to restore the home back to its original beauty. In 1984, it exchanged hands again to Mr. Leyland French, who completed more updating and refurbishing.

In 2015, the current owners, Dr. and Mrs. Reed, purchased the house and opened it to the public. Today it is known as the McRaven Tour Home.  McRaven got its current name from the street it is located on, which was formerly called McRaven Street, but is now Harrison Street. McRaven has been on the Mississippi Department of Archives and History's Historic Preservation list since January 8, 1978. 

SOURCES:

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McRaven_House

as well as the McRaven Tour Home website. 

For more information, or to schedule a tour

Click on the link below