Magnolia Plantation is a former cotton
plantation
A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...
in
Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana
Natchitoches Parish (french: Paroisse des Natchitoches or ) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 39,566. The parish seat is Natchitoches. The parish was formed in 1805.
The Natchito ...
. The site was declared a
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
in 2001, significant as one of the most intact 19th-century plantation complexes in the nation, as it is complete with a suite of slave cabins and numerous outbuildings and period technology.
Included in the
Cane River Creole National Historical Park
Established in 1994, the Cane River Creole National Historical Park serves to preserve the resources and cultural landscapes of the Cane River region in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana. Located along the Cane River Lake, the park is approximatel ...
, Magnolia Plantation is also a destination on the
Louisiana African American Heritage Trail
Louisiana African American Heritage Trail (french: Sentier de l'héritage afro-américain de la Louisiane) is a cultural heritage trail with 38 sites designated by the state of Louisiana, from New Orleans along the Mississippi River to Baton Rouge ...
. It is one of two plantations in the park; the other is
Oakland Plantation.
History
This plantation can be traced to Jean Baptiste LeComte II, who received
French and
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
land grants in the mid-18th century. This began the plantation's recorded history. But 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 (LeComte) and Matthew Hertzog took over the plantation shortly after their marriage in 1852, thus linking the Hertzog name to Magnolia. "By 1860, Ambrose II owned multiple properties of over 6,000 acres. Cotton and other crops were cultivated and harvested by 275 enslaved persons housed in 70 cabins."
Magnolia Plantation is exceptional because of the surviving farming technology, such as the
cotton picker
A cotton picker is either a machine that harvests cotton, or a person who picks ripe cotton fibre from the plants. The machine is also referred to as a cotton harvester.
History
In many societies, like America, slave and serf labor was utiliz ...
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 brick cabins of the original slave quarters, which contained 70 cabins for the numerous slaves.
After the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
, these cabins were used by
freedmen
A freedman or freedwoman is a formerly enslaved person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, enslaved people were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their captor-owners), abolitionism, emancipation (gra ...
, black
sharecroppers
Sharecropping is a legal arrangement with regard to agricultural land in which a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a share of the crops produced on that land.
Sharecropping has a long history and there are a wide range ...
whose families lived and worked on the plantation for 100 more years.
With mechanization replacing workers, the number of cabins maintained gradually declined.
The plantation was also exceptional for its influence in the community and the Cane River area. The Hertzogs had to rebuild the plantation house and other buildings damaged in the Civil War. But for 100 years after the war, "the Hertzogs," as the place was familiarly known, served as the center of a larger community of blacks and
Creoles of color
The Creoles of color are a historic ethnic group of Creole people that developed in the former French and Spanish colonies of Louisiana (especially in the city of New Orleans), Mississippi, Alabama, and Northwestern Florida i.e. Pensacola, Flor ...
who also lived and worked on the plantation. The blacks were mostly Protestants, whereas the
Creoles of color
The Creoles of color are a historic ethnic group of Creole people that developed in the former French and Spanish colonies of Louisiana (especially in the city of New Orleans), Mississippi, Alabama, and Northwestern Florida i.e. Pensacola, Flor ...
were Catholic and mostly leased land as tenant farmers. They all felt they had a stake, along with the Hertzogs, in maintaining the productivity of the land.
[ Muriel (Miki) Crespi, "A Brief Ethnography of Magnolia Plantation"](_blank)
National Park Service, accessed 9 JUl 2008 By the mid-20th century, mechanization of agriculture reduced the need for workers and many people left for urban jobs.
Sabin Gianelloni, Jr. purchased some part of Magnolia Plantation in August or September 1951 from Hertzog descendants and held it for a time. But Hertzog descendants continued to own and live in the main house until 2000; the last was Betty Hertzog, who lived most of her life in the house. The official group, Descendants of Ambrose John Hertzog and Sarah Jane Hunt Hertzog, took over after she decided to leave the house. It manages the house and agricultural farmland.
Today
The park portion of the plantation is owned by the
National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
. 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. On December 29, 2022, the main house and surrounding grounds were added to the national historical park's authorized boundary.
The Cane River Creole National Historical Park is located at 5487
Louisiana Highway 119. The closest town is
Derry, Louisiana
Derry is an unincorporated community in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, United States, located on Louisiana Highway 1.
It is the closest town to Magnolia Plantation, a National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a buildin ...
. The park is open from Mondays to Fridays, from 8 am to 4:30 pm.
See also
*
List of National Historic Landmarks in Louisiana
This is a complete list of National Historic Landmarks in Louisiana,.
The United States National Historic Landmark program is a program of the National Park Service, and recognizes structures, districts, objects, and similar resources according to ...
*
References
Further reading
*
External links
Cane River Creole National Historical ParkCane River National Heritage Area, a National Park Service ''Discover Our Shared Heritage'' Travel Itinerary National Park Service
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Slave cabins and quarters in the United States
Plantation houses in Louisiana
Houses in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana
Historic house museums in Louisiana
Museums in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana
Cane River National Heritage Area
Louisiana African American Heritage Trail
Houses completed in 1840
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Louisiana
National Historic Landmarks in Louisiana
Antebellum architecture
National Register of Historic Places in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana
Cotton plantations in Louisiana