Wander thoughtfully through the grounds of Oakland and Magnolia Plantations. While admiring a hand-wrought door hinge or a cleverly-worked wooden gate, we might reflect on the social and agricultural practices that built these tenant houses, pigeonniers, carpenter and blacksmith shops. The hand-hewn cypress beams, ancient bousillage walls, and weathered fencerows may remind us of the people who not only left us this legacy of rural landscapes and farm buildings, but also labored to bring the United States to the country it is today.