As Iberville grapples with Nottoway fire, property owner says he will consider rebuilding

By Haley Miller, The Advocate

Nottoway plantation owner Dan Dyess will consider rebuilding the Antebellum-era mansion in White Castle, once home to a wealthy sugar planter and 155 enslaved people, after a structure fire Thursday razed the main house.

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Nottoway was a plantation-turned-resort that served as an ornate reminder of Louisiana’s brutal history of chattel slavery and divided residents over its historic and aesthetic significance. It also boosted the economy in rural Iberville Parish, bringing in tourists and hosting events on its manicured grounds.

“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,” Iberville Parish President Chris Daigle said in a statement Thursday.

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Jessica Tilson, a Baton Rouge-based researcher with Georgetown University whose enslaved ancestors were sold by Georgetown leaders to plantations in Louisiana, said an event like the Nottoway fire brings conflicting emotions for descendants of enslaved people.

Read on to learn about those emotions.

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