[citation needed] The Louisville & Nashville Railroad was responsible for the name of Ravenna, the building of the shops, yard, office building, passenger and freight station, and many other things that were built for the establishment of a railroad terminal in Estill County just east of the county seat, Irvine.

[citation needed] A thriving village sprang up in 1915, when the railroad started construction of its shops; and five years later in 1920, Ravenna was incorporated as a 6th-class City by the Estill County Circuit Court.

In 1924 Ravenna was declared a 5th-class city by an act of the Kentucky State Legislature due to an increase in population.

In 1920, hundreds of "black railroad workers were forced to leave their jobs and their community[3] Ravenna is home of the local VFW Post #8019; a National Guard armory that is home to C Company, 1–149th Infantry (M), 149th BDE;[clarification needed] and the Estill County Veterans Memorial in Ravenna's Veterans Memorial Park.

A copy of a Late Antique mosaic from the Basilica of San Vitale, the tile depicts Roman Emperor Justinian I with Maximianus, Bishop of Ravenna.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Ravenna has a total area of 0.3 square miles (0.8 km2), all of it land.

[2] The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters.