Magnolia Mound, 2161 Nicholson Drive, Baton Rouge, East Baton Rouge Parish, LA

Significance: Magnolia Mound is one of the few extant examples of a late eighteenth century settler's house and one of the earliest surviving structures in the Baton Rouge vicinity. Built in the late 1790s on a ridge overlooking the Mississippi River, the original four-room plantation house is significant for its early cypress and bousillage construction. Circa 1815-1820, Magnolia Mound was enlarged and embellished in the Classical style. The plantation house possesses notable interior decoration including one of the first cove ceilings in the Mississippi Valley. Saved from the wrecker's ball in 1967, it has been restored as a historic house museum by the Foundation for Historical Louisiana, Inc. With the successive owners providing an illuminating social and economic history, this well documented and architecturally important plantation house was listed in the National Register of Historic Place in 1972.
Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: FN-120
Survey number: HABS LA-1130
Building/structure dates: after 1790 Initial Construction
Building/structure dates: ca. 1820 Subsequent Work
National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 72000549