This plantation can be traced to Jean Baptiste LeComte II, who received
French and
Spanish 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 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. 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==