A tour of Magnolia Mound’s historic grounds, including its modern new visitor center

Today, 15,000 visitors annually tour Magnolia Mound Plantation on Nicholson Drive. But 50 years ago, the historic site was perilously close to demolition.

A developer based in Lubbock, Texas, had bought the former plantation, planning to raze it and turn the area into a high-rise apartment complex. That didn’t sit well with a group of grassroots preservationists who understood that the 1791 structure was a significant example of French Creole architecture and a window into Louisiana’s colonial history.

At the time, halting new construction for the sake of preservation was a new concept, just getting off the ground nationally. The 1963 demolition of part of New York’s Penn Station would ultimately trigger the modern historic preservation movement, but the Big Apple was a long way from the Red Stick.

Still, a Louisiana judge sided with the activists, citing the local public’s constitutional responsibility to protect and cherish their heritage and culture, says Magnolia Mound Director John Sykes.

The Magnolia Mound demolition, barely underway, abruptly ceased, and the land was expropriated and sold to BREC. Some of the preservationists formed the Friends of Magnolia Mound and began raising money to restore the house—at the time an empty shell with a leaky roof. After nine years of careful refurbishment, the site first opened to the public in 1975.

Here’s a look at the history hidden on the plantation’s grounds—and how developers fused old with new for last year’s opening of the sleek, striking visitor center.

See some photos from in and around Magnolia Mound below:

This article was originally published in the September 2016 issue of 225 Magazine.