Docent, Magnolia Plantation and Gardens

Marie McGarrell is a house docent for the Magnolia Plantation House Tour at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens. She leads guests on a 30-minute tour through the historic two-story home previously lived in by generations of the Drayton family. Her passion for historical biographies as a child led her to her career as a house docent with museums like Captain Bangs Hallet House Museum in Yarmouth Port, Massachusetts and the Edmondston-Alston House in Charleston. She joined Magnolia 6 years ago.

Marie was born and raised in Connecticut and attended college for her undergraduate and master’s degree while still living in the New England area. After finishing school and working in New England as a docent, she and her late husband moved to Charleston in 1996. They fell in love with the theater and symphony scene that reminded her of Boston. In her spare time, she has sung in several choral groups and loves to collect sculptures of lighthouses, do yoga and walk in national parks.