Flames ripped through Nottoway Plantation House in Louisiana last Thursday, destroying much of a historic structure said to be the southern U.S.’s largest remaining antebellum mansion. Used as a plantation house when it was completed in 1859, the site was described as a “a cornerstone of our tourism economy and a site of national significance,” by local officials, having served before the fire as a resort and event venue.

The 4,924-sq.-m. home on a former sugar plantation on the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, about 100 km from the former, included a three-story rotunda adorned with giant white columns and included hand-carved Italian marble fireplaces, according to a description on its website.

Photos from local news outlets show a giant orange wall of fire consuming the upper portion of the rotunda and sending a plume of thick smoke into the sky.

In a statement on Facebook, Iberville Parish President Chris Daigle touched on the structure’s history of racial injustice during a time when enslaved people helped build the home and operate the sugar plantation that surrounded it.

“While its early history is undeniably tied to a time of great injustice, over the last several decades it evolved into a place of reflection, education, and dialogue,” Daigle said.

“Since the 1980s, it has welcomed visitors from around the world who came to appreciate its architecture and confront the legacies of its era,” he added. “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 cause of the fire is under investigation.

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