E.A. McIlhenny, 1926. Courtesy McIlhenny Company/E.A.
McIlhenny Enterprises, Inc., Avery Island, LA

history

Edward Avery McIlhenny (1872–1949) was born and home-schooled in an environment incredibly abundant in plant and wildlife. After only two years, McIlhenny withdrew from Lehigh University and set out on the first of a series of expeditions that would take him to the artic by ship. Today, the hundreds of specimens and artifacts McIlhenny collected on these expeditions can be found at the Academy of Natural Science in Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania’s Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.

While McIlhenny is known best for his role as longtime President of the McIlhenny Company, manufacturer of Tabasco brand pepper sauce, he also played a pivotal role in establishing Louisiana’s first wildlife refuges. Working with other private donors including the Rockefeller Foundation, McIlhenny helped secure the purchase of over 174,000 acres of marshland in southwestern Louisiana, all of which was donated to conservation groups, such as the National Audubon Society or to the State of Louisiana and placed under public administration.

During the first quarter of the 20th century, McIlhenny established Jungle Gardens as a private experimental garden and working nursery on Avery Island in Louisiana. The nursery proved successful and within years, McIlhenny had supplied plantings for dozens of major landscaping projects including Longue Vue Gardens; Shadows-on-the-Teche; the grounds of the Louisiana State Capitol in Baton Rouge; the Louisiana State University’s main campus; the Bayou Bend Estate in Houston; and City Park in New Orleans.