An original log and batten dogtrot structure built circa 1838 was first homesteaded by Robert and Winnie Byas. Calvin and Hepsey Leary acquired it in 1850, added a Greek Revival ell wing, and named the plantation Sunnyside. Leary gained the title of Model Farmer of North Louisiana, and acres in cultivation grew from 100 in 1850 to 2000 by 1880. The Shadow family purchased the property in 1906 and operated it as a landscape nursery called Dixie Nursery until 1981.