Named for the large trees that grew on the site, this was one of several houses built by Daniel N. Alley (1810–1868), who platted the western half of the town site. Built after the Civil War and at least ten years later than other Greek Revival houses in Jefferson, it demonstrates the lingering appeal of the style. The house features a full-width porch with a five-bay colonnade of fluted Doric columns. A side-gabled roof covers the symmetrical, center-hall plan, with a front-facing cross gable above the entrance. The front door is framed by pilasters and a paneled architrave that angles back from the plane of the front wall to form a slightly recessed area at the door. In 1876 The Magnolias was purchased by Jefferson banker and businessman W. B. Ward.