The townsite of Ravenswood is located in the south west region, 83 km south of Perth and 8 km south east of Mandurah. It is located on a bend in the Murray River, and was originally the name of a property taken up in this area by Adam Armstrong in the 1840's. Armstrong's property was known as "Ravenswood Farm". Ravenswood was known as a locality as early as 1895, and following private subdivision in the area in the 1960's the Shire of Murray requested the declaration of a townsite. The townsite of Ravenswood was gazetted in 1970.