Watch: Nottoway Plantation fire unearths deep pain over enslavement of Africans

A fire engulfed the historic Nottoway Plantation in White Castle, Louisiana on May 15, 2025, leaving behind only ashes and a storm of public reaction. The mansion, built in 1859 by sugar planter John Hampden Randolph with the forced labor of enslaved Africans, was the largest remaining antebellum house in the American South.

At over 53,000 square feet, it had long stood as both a historic site and a lightning rod for controversy over its romanticized portrayal of slavery-era wealth.

As flames consumed the towering white pillars and grand verandas—once used to host weddings and luxury events—video footage quickly spread across social media and news platforms.

For some, the destruction was a loss of architectural heritage. For many others, particularly Black Americans, it represented long-overdue justice and a symbolic end to a legacy of oppression.

Memes and celebratory posts flooded the internet. One clip of the fire set to Usher's “Let It Burn” went viral, while others added ASMR-style sound design to the crackling wood. In a widely shared post, historian Mia Crawford-Johnson shared a grinning selfie from across the river, writing, “Went and watched Nottoway Plantation burn to the ground!”

While fire officials confirmed the blaze was likely caused by an electrical fault and found no signs of arson, the emotional impact ignited intense debate.

Preservationists mourned the loss, citing the skill of the enslaved craftspeople whose work had been erased in the fire. But critics pointed to how the plantation had for years downplayed its brutal origins, often omitting or sugarcoating the experiences of those who were enslaved there.

Dr Andrea Livesey, a historian who visited Nottoway in 2019, noted that the site’s museum offered just a single placard on slavery, one that disturbingly claimed enslaved people were “treated well for the time.” As of this writing, the plantation’s official website makes no mention of either its enslaved history or the fire that destroyed it.

For many, the fall of Nottoway was more than the loss of a building — it was a reckoning.

With inputs from Associated Press