Louisiana Plantation Fire Seen as Both Lost History and Slavery Karma

An outpouring of contrasting emotions hit social media this week after a fire incinerated the largest pre-Civil War plantation mansion remaining in the American South.

The fire started Thursday afternoon at the 160-year-old Nottoway Plantation in White Castle, Louisiana, pulling in engines from ten local fire departments who could do little more than watch the historic property burn.

Built in 1859 by sugar magnate John Hampden Randolph, Nottoway enslaved more than 150 people. Predictably, the fire resulted in some celebrations on social media, Black Enterprise reported.

While posting live footage of the blaze, one wrote on X: “The Nottoway Plantation burned today. Some people are upset because their beloved event venue is gone…. Seeing the flames and knowing the history… it’s about time.”

By contrast, local politicians say it was history — albeit a “difficult one” — that burned to the ground.

“Nottoway was not only the largest remaining antebellum mansion in the South but also a symbol of both the grandeur and deep complexities of our region’s past,” Iberville Parish President Chris Daigle said in a statement posted on Facebook.

He continued, “It stood as both a cautionary monument and a testament to the importance of preserving history — even the painful parts — so that future generations can learn and grow from it.”

The mansion had 165 rooms and first reopened as a museum in the 1980s. At its height, a total of 155 slaves manned the sugar plantation.

One academic tried to put the loss in context for the Advocate. Jessica Tilson, a Baton Rouge-based researcher with Georgetown University, said an event like the Nottoway fire brings conflicting emotions for descendants of enslaved people. Her own ancestors were sold as slaves to Louisiana. But she also said the fire was the destruction of a real ancestral connection — the enslaved people’s “blood, sweat, and tears.”

The current owner of the mansion Dan Dyess told the Advocate he is considering rebuilding the home. The property had been turned into an event resort and reportedly boosted the local economy in the rural Iberville Parish. But it also divided residents over its past.

“We’re very devastated, we’re upset, we’re sad,” Dyess said Friday. “We put a lot of time, effort, and money to developing this property.”

The cause of the fire is currently under investigation, according to Louisiana fire officials.

Lowell Cauffiel was the recipient of Columbia University’s  prestigious Paul Tobenkin Memorial Award for his series on racial conflict in Detroit in the 1980s. He’s the best-selling author of Below the Line and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.