Margaret Jones French McLean (April 29, 1879 – November 1, 1959) was an American political hostess, socialite, and musician.

[1] For one event, she transformed the mansion's ballroom into a spring garden with stone benches and a profusion of flowers and foliage.

[1] For a traditional New Year's Eve reception and open house, she decorated the dining room table with a complex snow scene.

[2] McLean hosted a springtime event for the United Daughters of the Confederacy, transforming the mansion ballroom into a garden with trees, scrubs, flowers, and a fountain.

[2] McLean often hired a bagpipe player to entertain her guests and promote the family's Scottish heritage.

[2] While it was customary at the time to host parties categorically, with legislators and ministers separated, she preferred to mix groups while entertaining.

[2] When the mansion received a low rating of 71 from the North Carolina State Board of Health, McLean saw to it that the house was thoroughly cleaned and repaired.

She had exposed plumbing and heating pipes removed, dirt beneath floorboards used for cushioning the sound cleaned out, rebuilt the kitchen, and had large Jacobean pieces of furniture and tapestries added to the decor.

[2] McLean was known for her beauty and refused to pose for formal photographs as she aged, as her dark hair turned white and she felt that her glasses were uncomplimentary to her features.

[4] The McLeans lived in Duart House, a large, white-columned Neoclassical mansion in Lumberton that they built in 1910 on the grounds of her maternal family's home.