Architectural style Acadian Cottage Designated NHLD January 3, 2001 Year built 1840 | NRHP Reference # 79001071 Area 6 ha Added to NRHP 7 March 1979 | |
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Magnolia Plantation is a former plantation in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana. The site was declared a National Historic Landmark in 2001, significant as one of the most intact 19th-century plantation complexes, complete with a suite of slave cabins. Included in the Cane River Creole National Historical Park, Magnolia Plantation is also a destination on the Louisiana African American Heritage Trail.
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History
The plantation traces its roots back to Jean Baptiste LeComte II, who received French and Spanish land grants in the mid-18th century. This began the plantation's recorded history, although the first structures were not built until the 19th century, and the plantation was not operating until 1830. Ambrose LeComte, son of Jean Baptiste, married Julia Buard. They began a tradition of community and cultivation on a vast piece of property. Two of their daughters, Laura and Ursula Atala, married two sons from the Hertzog family: Bernard Theophile Henry and Matthew Hertzog, respectively. Atala and Matthew Hertzog took over the plantation shortly after their marriage in 1852, thus linking the Hertzog name to Magnolia.
Magnolia Plantation is exceptional because of the surviving farming technology, such as the cotton picker tractors and two cotton gins (both steam- and animal-powered). It has 21 buildings that contribute to the significance of the site, an unusually high number for surviving plantations. Among these are the eight quarters, rare brick cabins used by slaves, then workers who lived and worked on the plantation for 100 years after the American Civil War.
The plantation was also exceptional for its influence in the community and the Cane River area. For 100 years after the American Civil War, "the Hertzogs," as the place was familiarly known, served as the center of a community of Creoles of color and blacks who lived and worked on the plantation as tenant farmers and laborers. By the mid-20th century, changes in agriculture led people to urban jobs.
Today
According to the Sabin Gianelloni, Sr. Papers (submitted to the LSU Libraries) Subseries 2. Sabin, Jr. and Vivian Gianelloni correspondence, 1937-1957 - "Sabin, Jr. tells of his purchase of Magnolia Plantation (Aug. 24, 28, Sept. 24, 1951)" [from its original owners] however, records are not showing any transfer to the Conservation or Parks division in later years. [Information added by Meg Gianelloni McDonough, March 2013]
The park portion of the plantation is owned by the National Park Service. The main house and the farming acreage is owned by the Descendants of Ambrose John Hertzog and Sarah Jane Hunter Hertzog. The Park Service has acquired 16 buildings, including the Plantation Store, the cotton gin, the Overseer's House (or Slave Hospital); blacksmith shop and the brick quarters. It continues to improve their condition to preserve them for future generations.
The Cane River Creole National Historical Park is located at 5487 Louisiana Highway 119. The closest town is Derry, Louisiana. The park is open from Mondays to Fridays, from 8 am to 4:30 pm.