A towering Louisiana mansion that once stood as the South's largest surviving antebellum home was gutted by fire Thursday, wiping out a piece of American history along the Mississippi River. The cause of the blaze at Nottoway Plantation House, around 65 miles northwest of New Orleans remains under investigation, the AP reports. Officials say nearly a dozen local fire departments responded to the blaze, which consumed the 53,000-square-foot property. No injuries were reported, and firefighters managed to contain the fire and prevent it from spreading to nearby properties.
The mansion, which featured a three-story rotunda, white columns, and Italian marble fireplaces, had operated as a resort and event venue prior to the fire. Matthew Morgan, Nottaway's executive chef, says he spotted smoke coming out of the south wing Thursday afternoon. "I never ran so fast in my life," he says—but he dropped a tub of water and ran back out of the mansion after he heard crackling beneath his feet. He says first responders were at the scene in minutes but they couldn't save the mansion. "These boys showed up at damn near all the same time, and just went right to work," he tells the New Orleans Times-Picayune. The building's owner, attorney Dan Dyess, said the fire led to a "total loss" of the mansion, which was completed in 1859.
Iberville Parish President Chris Daigle called Nottoway a "cornerstone of our tourism economy" and noted its national significance. The mansion's history is closely tied to its antebellum past: In 1860, 155 enslaved people lived and worked on the property, according to National Park Service records. Unlike many other plantations in the state, Nottoway avoided major damage in the Civil War. Daigle said that while its origins are linked to an era of "great injustice," the site evolved in recent decades to be a space for reflection and education about its history and the legacies of slavery. The latest version of its website, however, avoided any mention of slaves or slave labor, the Advocate reports. (This content was created with the help of AI. Read our AI policy.)
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