Robert Antoine Robin de Logny contracted with Charles Pacquet, a mulatto carpenter, to build a raised house in the West Indies or Creole style, with outbuildings to support his indigo plantation.

When the work was completed, Charles Pacquet received the following remuneration: "one brute negro," a cow and a calf, 100 bushels each of corn and rice, and $100 in cash.

[citation needed] After the Louisiana Purchase, when the former colony had become a U.S. territory, the Destrehan Plantation was involved in a major slave revolt, the 1811 German Coast Uprising.

Local justice was yet based on the traditional French system, which did not provide for a fair and impartial trial or an opportunity for appeal of a court's ruling.

For those who stayed, a factory was to be set up for the freed slaves to manufacture shoes and clothes, and 25 years after his death a city was to be laid out on the grounds of the plantation and named Dunblane.

Doors and windows were trimmed in Greek Revival details, the wood columns of the façade were encased in plastered brick, and the rear gallery was enclosed to create an entrance foyer.

Emile Rost sold the plantation in 1910, to the Destrehan Planting and Manufacturing Company, ending family ownership of the estate after 123 years.

Due in part to an old legend that the privateer Jean Lafitte had hidden treasure in the house, treasure-seekers left gaping holes in the walls.

Fortunately, a local sheriff prevented the theft of the plantation's original 1840s iron entrance gates and a 1,400 lb (640 kg) marble bathtub, rumored to be a gift from Napoleon Bonaparte to the family.

The oil company continued its support in 1990 by donating monies for the installation of a fire sprinkler system and new roof, as well as gifting an additional 12.8 acres (52,000 m2) of surrounding land.

[9] Through its volunteer efforts, the historical society was able to raise sufficient funds to halt the process of decay at the former plantation, restoring the house and grounds to their former beauty.