Magnolia Grove was the birthplace and ancestral home of Richard Pearson Hobson, who lived from 1870 to 1937 and became a Spanish-American War hero. As Admiral Hobson, he served as a naval officer, statesman, lecturer, and author, urging national preparedness and championing human welfare causes. Alabama made this home a state shrine to Admiral Hobson in 1943. The house was built in 1838 by Col. Isaac Groom.