Liendo Plantation was built in 1853 by Leonard Waller Groce, the son of Jared Groce, who was one of the largest most respected land owners in Texas. Originally a Spanish land grant of 67,000 acres assigned to Justo Liendo, the plantation's namesake, Liendo was one of Texas' earliest cotton plantations.

It was considered the social center of Texas receiving and lavishly entertaining early Texas dignitaries and notorieties. Liendo was considered a typical Southern plantation, having over 300 slaves and being itself built by slave labor. Sufficient in all its needs; it was a self contained community. Like most Southern plantations, however, Liendo fell on hard times after the Civil War and changed owners several times thereafter.