Magnolia Mound Plantation House, Baton Rouge

Magnolia Mound Plantation House, nestled on a gently rising ridge near the Mississippi River, is a truly remarkable time capsule of late 18th- and early 19th-century Creole life. Originally built around 1791 by Irish émigré John Joyce as a modest four-room cottage, it stands today as the oldest documented wooden structure in the city. Lush live oaks and magnolias drape its wrap‑around gallery, showcasing the elegant French Creole vernacular architecture influenced by both French and West Indies settlers.

Between 1802 and 1805, Joyce’s widow Constance and her second husband, French war veteran Armand Duplantier, oversaw major improvements to the house. These included stylish Federal‐style interior upgrades such as a coved parlor ceiling, intricate moldings, and an expanded rear gallery to accommodate their growing family. Behind its graceful façade lies a fascinating collection of Louisiana‐made and imported furnishings-French, English, and Federal‑style pieces-that reflect the cultural and mercantile links between Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and the eastern United States.

Today, Magnolia Mound is maintained by the Baton Rouge Recreation and Park Commission (BREC) in partnership with the Friends of Magnolia Mound Plantation. Opened to the public in 1975, the site includes the main house museum, a reconstructed open‑hearth kitchen, slave quarters, pigeonnier, overseer’s house, carriage house, and kitchen garden-all set on sixteen acres. Accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, it offers guided tours, living‑history demonstrations, and educational events that ensure both the elegance and the more difficult aspects of plantation life-including the lives of the enslaved-are thoughtfully shared.

A visit to Magnolia Mound offers a captivating, immersive journey into Creole architecture, plantation-era craftsmanship, and Louisiana’s layered past, situated just a mile from downtown and moments from LSU’s southern gateway.