White Castle LA - Nottoway Plantation
Wikipedia: The new owners of Nottoway were Désiré Pierre Landry and his father-in-law, Jean Baptiste Dugas, whose family owned the plantation until 1909, when Landry's widow sold Nottoway to sugar planter Alfonse Hanlon. Soon after, Hanlon lost Nottoway to foreclosure in 1913 due to crop failures the previous two years that resulted in tax problems and accrued medical bills by his wife's failing health. Dr. Whyte G. Owen purchased the plantation out of foreclosure in the amount of $10,000.
Dr. Owen, one-time Surgeon General of Louisiana, attempted to run the estate as a sugar plantation, but was not successful. He sold off 1,193 acres keeping the house and surrounding property. After his death in 1949, Nottoway was inherited by his son Stanford who lived with his wife Odessa in the house until his death in 1974. Thereafter, Odessa Owen lived alone in the massive house trying to maintain the house with her limited resources. Knowing she was unable to adequately care for the house, Owen sold the plantation to Arlin K. Dease in 1980, who had restored three other antebellum mansions, including the Myrtles Plantation in St. Francisville, Louisiana with the caveat that she be allowed to live in house until her death. Dying in 2003, it was at this time the house ceased to be a private home. Dease restored Nottoway, working a crew of 40 to 60 men 12 hours a day, and opened the house to the public three months after his purchase. Arlin Dease sold Nottoway to Paul Ramsay of Sydney, Australia in 1985, after he had stayed at the property while in the area for business.[6]
Under Ramsay's tenure, Nottoway has become a resort destination. The house serves as an inn and is a member of Historic Hotels of America, the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Nottoway was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 and is a popular tourist attraction in southern Louisiana.
