John Ray, his wife Roxanna and their nine children lived in this modest house during the Battle of Wilson’s Creek. Built about 1852, the Ray House is the only original surviving dwelling from the time of the battle. When the battle broke out, John Ray remained on his front porch. He witnessed fighting in his own cornfield and on Bloody Hill. Roxanna, the children, Aunt Rhoda (a slave) and her three children and Julius Short, a hired farm hand, all took shelter in the cellar. They would come out hours later to find their house littered with wounded and dying Southerners.

The Ray Springhouse, the family's source of water and refrigeration, is located west of the house. The Springhouse is another surviving structure from the time of the battle.