As the United States commemorates its semiquincentennial, July 4, 2026, marks 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

While many know Magnolia for its romantic beauty, few realize that its survival and international fame are deeply rooted in the vision of one extraordinary woman named Julia Drayton Hastie.

In a photograph preserved by the Library of Congress and taken around 1901, a visitor strolls along a garden path during Magnolia’s spring bloom.