Local reports show that a fire broke out at the historic plantation museum in Eberville Parish, Louisiana on May 15th, with the full extent of the damage unknown.
New Orleans supporters and news station WBRZ reported that the flames at the Notwai Resort Plantation House at White Castle began around 2pm local time. There were no guests at the time of the fire and no injuries were reported.
The president of Iberville Parish Chris Daigle said staff saw smoke on the second floor of the museum and later returned to the entire room, engulfed in flames. About 40 firefighters responded to the scene and found a fire consuming the building’s south wing.
“The good thing is that the house was built at different stages. The South Wing may differ from the heart of the house and may allow for more preservation in the heart of Notway,” Daigle told WBRZ.
Daigul said the flames would eventually reach the attic on the third floor, and would destroy the effort until the evening, New Orleans supporters reported.
USA Today has contacted the Iberville Parish Fire & Emergency Services department for comments.
What is Noteway Resort?
Louisiana’s Notway Resort is a former slave statistics and is one of the largest Civil War mansions in the South.
Built in 1859, the museum is located in White Castle, between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. It spans 31 acres across the resort and offers a variety of venues, amenities and services, including tennis courts and 40 overnight rooms.
“The mansion’s enormous white pillars and spectacular balconies are guarded over the Mississippi River, but to the north it overlooks the oak-covered lawn, cleaned by a spectacular three-storey rotunda,” the resort’s website reads.
Hundreds of slaves built and staffed plantations for the family of Louisiana’s prominent Planterjon Hampden Randolph.
