Civil War Buffet Comes Home

RAVENSWOOD — A piece of history with a colorful past returned to its roots in Ravenswood earlier this year.

Built in the 1820s, the Empire buffet donated by Jeff Wheeler of Washington, D.C., has ties to the Civil War and the Ravenswood community as Wheeler’s ancestor, who lived in the town, owned the piece during the war.

Wheeler inherited the buffet from his grandmother Virginia (Smith) Gorby, a former member of the West Virginia Historical Society who lived in Ravenswood her entire life.

“It is a wonderful piece of history, though it is quite large and heavy for us to keep in one of our homes. It would be fitting to return it back to its home community,” Wheeler said. “Our grandmother told us West Virginia history and the family stories as if she had been there.”

The buffet traveled from the home of Wheeler’s brother in Columbia, S.C., to Ravenswood.

It’s new home is the McIntosh House. Katrena Ramsey, superintendent of the Ravenswood Board of Parks and Recreation, said John McIntosh, a prominent character in Ravenswood’s history, rode alongside the original owner of the buffet.

The piece will remain in the McIntosh House.

“It’s going to get used and appreciated in this house more than it would in the museum,” Ramsey said.

The piece is in great condition, especially considering its age, but there’s one flaw–the center cabinet lock had to be replaced.

Union soldiers broke into the home of Wheeler’s ancestor, cut the lock and stole liquor from the inside.

“(Gorby) told this story with the same vehemence that she heard it from her parents and grandparents,” Wheeler said.

Because of her passion for history, Gorby also donated several other pieces including documents related to Dr. B.H. Hoyt, a surgeon during the Civil War and a luminary in Jackson County during the late 1800s.

“My grandmother left me a number of things, including a family property survey map from the late 1700s (and) newspaper articles from the 1800s,” Wheeler said.

Ramsey expressed her gratitude toward Wheeler and what the donation means for the city of Ravenswood

“We are delighted to have this well-traveled buffet return home to Ravenswood. Its display in the McIntosh House enables us to tell another story of this history. None of this would have been possible without the generous donation of Mr. Wheeler,” she said.

Candice Black can be reached at cblack@newsandsentinel.com.