McIlhenny

Edward Avery McIlhenny, a self-taught naturalist, returned to Avery Island from an arctic expedition in 1898 and soon took over the family's TABASCO® pepper sauce business. He married Mary Matthews of New Orleans and built a house in what became Jungle Gardens, where they reared three children on the island. McIlhenny applied his curious skills to running the family business, caring for his mother and extended family members, and learning to harness his boundless curiosity, abilities, and vigor in service to the small, isolated island. In 1924, his original house burned, and it was rebuilt soon afterward in a more restrained style; that structure still stands in Jungle Garden.

Louisiana · United States