Magnolia Mound Museum unveils research on enslaved people for Black History Month

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – February 1 marks the beginning of Black History Month, and a local museum is sharing groundbreaking research into the lives of enslaved people from the area.

On Sunday (Feb. 1), the Magnolia Mound Museum unveiled a two-year research study uncovering new insights into the lives of people who were enslaved there. The study was led by descendants of the Duplantier family.

Research uncovers lost names

The work has uncovered the names of over 100 enslaved people at Magnolia Mound who were previously lost to history.

“A generation ago, most people thought that it was impossible to learn anything about the everyday lives of enslaved people, or to recover their names, because it was, of course, illegal for enslaved people to learn how to read or write,” said John Bardes, associate professor of history at LSU.

Researchers said they combed through economic and financial records from slaveholders over many months.

“Doing that work takes a lot of time, it takes a lot of attention and patience, but the records are all sitting there collecting dust,” Bardes said.

Community connections

During the two years, the museum has been building relationships with South Baton Rouge residents like Troy Albert and Janis Holeyfield, and collaborating with experts and researchers throughout the capital area.

For Albert, who has family ties with Magnolia Mound, coming back to the site in South Baton Rouge brings back childhood memories.

“We grew up here, maybe two blocks away. I remember running on these grounds with my bicycle and everything else under these bridges and the river,” Albert said.

Lou Duplantier, a member of the Friends of Magnolia Mound Museum Board, said she feels a direct responsibility to tell the full history.

“Obviously, I’m a white descendant from the enslaver side of the people who once owned this plantation and who once enslaved these people. So, I feel like I have a direct responsibility to make sure that the full history is told,” Duplantier said.

Permanent memorial planned

Duplantier said the goal is to create something permanent on the grounds for visitors.

“A lot of people have done this research before, but we want to be able to put something that’s permanent on the grounds so that when visitors are coming through, either from the neighborhood or from states or countries away, they understand the importance of memorializing the people who were forced to be enslaved here,” she said.

Janis Holeyfield, who also has family ties with Magnolia Mound, emphasized the importance of exploring history.

“You need to explore your history. You need to know, if you don’t know where you came from, as they said, then it’s very, there needs to be a connection to family,” Holeyfield said.

Bardes said the research is part of a broader national shift in how plantations and history are represented.

“This is part of a broader national shift in how we think about plantations, how we represent our history. And I think it’s really important that Baton Rouge, as a place that was once at the epicenter of the Plantation South, it’s important that Baton Rouge take a leading role in that transformation,” he said.

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