[2] The following is an excerpt from the National Register of Historic Places nomination: The land now occupied by Zemurray Gardens was one of the earliest settled areas in what is now Tangipahoa Parish and was described in an 1822 act of sale as "the section of land on which Nathan Joiner now lives and was originally settled by Thomas Joiner."

Hennen was a prominent member of the legal profession in Louisiana, beginning his practice in 1807 when he first settled there.The land title changed during the following years through various heirs and relatives.

Sometime in October 1928, Samuel Zemurray from New Orleans, the president of the United Fruit Company at that time, purchased the property.

His wife Sarah Zemurray, an admirer of flowers instructed Schilling to plant many rows of azaleas and camellias along the forest trails.

In the mid-1900s, the Zemurray family hired a notable architect from New Orleans named Moise Goldstein and interior designer George Gallup to improve the property.

[6] The National Register nomination describes it as a narrow wooded driveway that leads from the highway to the garden entrance.