MAGNOLIA MOUND: A Creole Plantation Home
From humble beginnings in the 1790s to a refined plantation home, Magnolia Mound reflects the cultural, economic, and human stories of early 19th-century Louisiana.
THE EARLY YEARS OF MAGNOLIA MOUND
James Hillin: 1786-1791
In 1786, James Hillin, an Irish immigrant, received a Spanish land grant of 930 acres. Spain controlled Louisiana from 1763 to 1800, and governors such as Bernardo de Gálvez and Esteban Miró encouraged immigration to stabilize the frontier and promote agricultural development. Hillin cleared the wilderness to build shelter for his family and to establish a plantation economy centered on indigo and tobacco. Indigo, a high-value export dye plant, was especially significant to Louisiana’s late-colonial economy until the rise of cotton and sugar after 1795. By 1790, Hillin enslaved at least six people, reflecting how even modest settlers in Spanish Louisiana relied on enslaved African labor. Following the death of his wife in 1791, Hillin sold the property to John Joyce, another Irish immigrant.
Watercolor drawing by Jim Blanchard of the 1791 house
John and Constance Rochon Joyce: 1791-1798
Upon acquiring the plantation, John Joyce constructed a four-room house that formed the nucleus of today’s Magnolia Mound. Because the family lived in Mobile, the estate was run as an absentee plantation, managed by an overseer and worked by enslaved laborers. Joyce’s death was sudden and accidental: while traveling by boat from New Orleans to Mobile, he drowned, leaving his widow Constance Rochon Joyce with two children, Josephine and William. The estate, including enslaved property, passed to them as heirs. The succession illustrates how plantations in this period were treated as inheritable estates, with enslaved persons listed alongside land and improvements as key assets.
Armand Gabriel Allard Duplantier and Augustine Gérard: 1781-1802
Born in Voiron, France, in 1753, Armand Gabriel Allard Duplantier came to America to fight in the American Revolution. He served as an officer under General Lafayette, and later correspondence suggests that the two remained connected after the war. In 1781, Duplantier moved to Louisiana to join his uncle, Claude Trenonay, a planter in Pointe Coupée Parish. Shortly thereafter he married Augustine Gérard, Trenonay’s adopted stepdaughter.Together, the couple established themselves as planters, purchasing a plantation near Trenonay’s holdings and acquiring at least three enslaved people from Guinea. The mortality risks of plantation life were starkly demonstrated in 1799, when Augustine died of yellow fever in New Orleans five weeks after the birth of their fourth child. The infant was nursed by one of Duplantier’s enslaved women, underscoring the dependence of planter families on enslaved caregivers as well as field laborers.
The portrait says "Armand en Amerique" (Armand in America) but it is unclear if it is the father or the son.
Marie Augustine Gerard (1762-1799) married Armand Gabriel Allard Duplantier on July 5, 1781.
Portrait with their first child Fergus Duplantier (1783-1844) who married Marie Josephine Joyce on October 23, 1807.
Armand and Constance Duplantier: 1802-1827
In 1802, both widowed, Armand Duplantier and Constance Rochon Joyce married, uniting their families and estates. In 1804, Constance was legally confirmed in possession of Magnolia Mound, at which time 53 enslaved individuals were recorded as part of the property. Though ownership rested with her, the couple almost certainly managed the plantation jointly.
Duplantier’s fortunes declined in the years following the Louisiana Purchase. In 1814, facing economic setbacks, he filed for bankruptcy. Around this time, Magnolia Mound likely became the couple’s permanent residence. To reflect their planter status and Creole cultural identity, they remodeled and expanded the original four-room overseer’s house, embellishing it with architectural refinements aligned with contemporary Creole taste. Armand Duplantier passed away in 1827.
Furnishing of Historic House
To furnish their home, the Duplantiers traveled to New Orleans, where they purchased goods from a wide range of merchants. These included European imports, East Coast mahogany neoclassical furniture, and locally made pieces crafted from cherry, walnut, and cypress. Magnolia Mound came to reflect the elegance expected of a wealthy Creole family along the Mississippi River.
Gilt Bronze Figural Mantel Clock
French First Empire
Circa 1810
White enamel dial signed “Ravio, Bronzier, Paris” for Antoine-André Ravio, and “Mesnil”.
The rectangular base features cast cornucopias flanking a central medallion depicting a swan sheltering her young, with side medallions of butterflies amid floral sprays.
The scene above shows a winged goddess standing beside an altar and a lyre, placing a wreath upon a bust of a maiden inscribed “Amitié” (“Friendship”).
Retains the original clock movement.
The Plantation System
In early 19th-century Louisiana, wealth was built on the backs of enslaved people. Magnolia Mound’s 930-acre plantation produced cotton and later sugarcane, both sold on national and international markets. Enslaved people were not just laborers—they were legally considered property and used as financial assets. Their forced labor fueled the region’s economy and the Duplantiers' refined lifestyle.
Magnolia Mound Museum Today
Today, the Historic House Museum represents the period from 1802 to 1830, when the Duplantier family owned the property. This interpretation includes both the cultural refinement of the household and the hard truths of the plantation system.
The museum works to share the stories of both the Duplantier family and the enslaved people whose labor shaped Magnolia Mound.