Latest news with #Dyess
Hindustan Times
23-05-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Who is Dan Dyess, the owner of Nottoway Plantation in Louisiana?
The Nottoway plantation house, an essential element of Louisiana's history, went up in flames at 2AM on Thursday (May 15) when staff at the building reported seeing smoke coming up from the south wing. Dan Dyess, the current owner of the building, has expressed his devastation at the event and is uncertain about the possibility of restoration. The State Fire Marshal's Office began its investigation to deduce the cause of the fire on Friday and is still unclear on when a conclusive report could be produced. The official website of this now popular resort and wedding location describes it as 'one of the South's largest historic mansions, located on the famous River Road between Baton Rouge and New Orleans." Chris Daigle, President of the Iberville Parish, expressed his condolences at the loss of one of the city's 'most iconic landmarks' on social media. Daigle described the charred mansion as the 'cornerstone of our tourism economy' and remarked how its absence would be felt deeply. Though famed for its stunning white columns, grand balconies and spectacular three-story Rotunda, the Nottoway plantation house has a troubled history. Originally designed as a 64-room foot property sprawling across 53,000 acres by Henry Howard at the behest of a wealthy sugar planter, John Hampden Randolph, the mansion remained a painful reminder of the worst of enslavement. The mansion was built entirely using bondage labor and served as a profitable sugar plantation employing about 150 slaves in the 1860s. Half a century later, the building was sold off to the Owens family who started using the mansion partially as a luxury resort space. The structure was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. Following a series of handovers and buy-outs, the property finally found its way in the hands of Dan Dyess, a Natchitoches area lawyer, in late 2024 when he purchased it from hotelier Joe Jaeger Jr. Along with owning the Nottoway plantation house, Dyess is also the owner of the historic Steel Magnolia House Bed and Breakfast in Natchitoches. 'We're very devastated, we're upset, we're sad,' said Dyess on Friday. 'We put a lot of time, effort and money to developing this property. This was my dream that has now been dashed.' Though efforts are underway to uncover the cause of the fire, Ken Pastorick, the Public Affairs Director for the State Fire Marshal has stated that the process will take time. 'This is a large-scale fire that destroyed a huge piece of history, and it's gonna take time for our investigators to look at this and figure out how it happened and why it happened,' he said. Depending upon the extent of damage revealed by the fire department's report, Dyess is expected to take a decision on whether he will be restoring the property. While Iberville residents have expressed their despair over losing a piece of historic and personal relevance, many have also showed indifference towards the event due to its tangled past.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
5 Things You Should Know About the Nottoway Plantation's Horrid Legacy
The Black social media-verse has been ablaze with reaction to the burning down of Nottoway Plantation in White Castle, La. Officials believe the cause of the 160-year-old structure's destruction may have been electrical. But it is a place of history, and what was lost despite what it represented was a window into the past that allows us to examine what the place really was. So here are some things you should understand about the now-burned Nottoway Plantation: The property was steeped in slavery as an industry. Nottoway was built between 1857 and 1859 for John Hampden Randolph (1813-1883), a sugar planter who owned three other plantations in Iberville Parish, La.; Blythewood, Forest Home, and Bayou Goula. He came from a family of cotton planters in Mississippi and began planting cotton in Louisiana in 1841. He switched to sugar cane, and slaves constructed the 53,000 square-foot property, through which he amassed significant wealth, according to his own papers. Some Black people at Nottoway resisted, but others found further misery. By 1860, Randolph held at least 155 human beings in bondage there. Little is known about them to this day, but according to Freedmen's Bureau records show that at least 11 people escaped during the Civil War. As the Union army drew near, Randolph took about 200 slaves from Nottoway and his other properties into Texas to grow cotton. After the war, they were freed, but 53 of them contracted with him to return. Economically, Nottoway was cursed for generations. Postwar hard times hit the South, and the plantation was significantly reduced in size. After Randolph's death, the place changed hands a number of times due to foreclosure, crop failure, tax issues, the sale of surrounding land, and other problems. At least two later owners unsuccessfully tried to make Nottoway a sugar plantation again. It wound up in the hands of widow Odessa Owen, who lived there alone, unable to care for the mansion on her own. Millionaires tried to keep profiting from the legacy. Nottoway joined the National Registry of Historic Places in 1980, and after two more sales, it went to Australian businessman Paul Ramsey in 1985. He turned the property into a popular tourist resort. Ramsey died in 2014 after pouring $15 million into Nottoway to fix it, but it was sold to New Orleans hotelier Joseph Jaeger for $3.1 million in 2019. He was killed in an auto accident in 2024, and ownership changed again last October to Dan Dyess, a Natchitoches lawyer and preservationist. The new owner doesn't get it. Dyess has been quoted in the media as intending good things for Nottoway. He has said that he and his wife are 'non-racist' people who understand how people feel about its past, but had 'nothing to do with slavery.' 'We are trying to make this a better place,' Dyess said, according to the New York Post. 'We don't have any interest in left-wing radical stuff. We need to move forward on a positive note here, and we are not going to dwell on past racial injustice.' Madison J. Gray is a New York-based journalist. He blogs at For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
New York Post
17-05-2025
- General
- New York Post
Owner of ruined Nottoway Plantation in La. hopes to rebuild
The owner of the largest remaining antebellum mansion in the South — which burned to the ground this week — hopes the 166-year-old Louisiana home will rise again. Fire officials believe the cause of the Nottoway Plantation blaze was electrical and not suspicious, William Daniel Dyess, an attorney and preservationist, told The Post. The blaze may have started in a side bedroom. There had been a tour of the property that morning, said Dyess, who said he hopes to rebuild the home. Flames broke out at the estate in White Castle, about 30 minutes south of Baton Rouge, just after 2 p.m. on Thursday, drawing engines from 10 local fire departments who were helpless to stop the fire from torching all 53,000 square feet of the historic structure. 3 A fire engulfed the historic Nottoway Plantation in Louisiana on Thursday. The cause of the fire remains unknown. AP One fire marshal called it 'the biggest fire' they'd seen, according to ABC. No injuries were reported. Dyess only recently bought the home, after the previous owner was killed in a car accident, he said. Nottoway was a sugar plantation operated and constructed by slave labor on behalf of John Hampden Randolph in 1859. The 165-room home became a museum in the 1980s, opening its doors to visitors from around the world. But a number of people on social media said they were glad to see it burn. 3 Nottoway was a sugar plantation operated and constructed by slave labor on behalf of John Hampden Randolph in 1859 for roughly $80,000 or about $3 million in 2025 dollars. Nicholas Schabert/Facebook 3 Nottoway's current owner William Daniel Dyess says he may rebuild the property. AP 'Some call it a tragedy, but for many Black folks, it feels like a small act of justice,' a man named Neo from The Black Wall Street Times wrote on X. 'That house was built by enslaved hands and later turned into a wedding venue that profited off our pain. 'Maybe now, our ancestors can rest a little easier. Sometimes, ashes feel like freedom.' Nottoway was 'a symbol of both the grandeur and deep complexities,' Iberville Parish President Chris Daigle wrote on Facebook. '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 added. Dyess said he understands the property's polarizing history, but doesn't align with its checkered past. 'I take this position — we are non-racist people. I am a lawyer and my wife is a judge. we believe in equal opportunity rights for everyone, total equality and fairness,' Dyess said. 'My wife and I had nothing to do with slavery but we recognize the wrongness of it. 'We are trying to make this a better place. We don't have any interest in left wing radical stuff. We we need to move forward on a positive note here and we are not going to dwell on past racial injustice.' Dyess is also the owner of the Steel Magnolia House in Natchitoches, the home at the centerpiece of the 1989 film, 'Steel Magnolias.'
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Some Foley neighborhoods' speed limits change — what to expect
FOLEY, Ala. (WKRG) — The Foley City Council has approved a new ordinance to change the speed limits in some neighborhoods. 'Sand In My Boots Festival' prep underway — what to know ahead of the event According to a city news release, the change was made to make the speed throughout Foley more consistent. The speed limits will change in the southwest quarter of the city and on James Road, according to officials. 'It was brought to our attention in the southeast quadrant that there were some inconsistencies in some of our streets that were really no different than other streets,' Foley Executive Director for Infrastructure and Development Wayne Dyess said. 'We felt that we can go in and standardize that.' The speed limit will now be 20 miles per hour on Orange Avenue, Myrtle Avenue, Pedigo Avenue, Oak Street and Pine Street. Streets near Max Griffin Park and Sarah Thompson Kids Park, including Verbena Avenue and Roosevelt Avenue, will be 15 miles per hour. Speed on James Road near the Cottages on the Greene Subdivision will be reduced by 10 miles per hour — from 35 to 25. City officials will look at other areas to see if the speed limit needs to be adjusted elsewhere, according to the release. Baldwin County Public Schools graduation schedule 'We will continue to look at the remainder of the city,' Dyess said. 'As we grow, traffic needs and uses are impacted and changed. This, to us, makes a lot of sense. It meets the needs of that area.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS: Who's performing at the Wings Over West Texas airshow?
ABILENE, Texas () – If you live in the Abilene area, you may have noticed several planes flying overhead already as they arrive in preparation for the Wings Over West Texas airshow. Featuring the Air Force's Thunderbirds and more, this event will showcase decades of aviation history and innovation. Below, you will find the schedule of events for April 19 and 20. Wings Over West Texas Airshow Easter Weekend at Dyess Air Force Base Gates will open at 8:00 a.m. on both Saturday and Sunday for this free public event. The schedule is the same for both days: 11:08 a.m. – C-47 + Wings of Blue 11:20 a.m. – B-1/C-130 JFE 11:40 a.m. – AceMaker33 12:03 p.m. – Tora Tora Tora + P-40 12:41 p.m. – 2x P-51 12:55 p.m. – Hellcat 1:07 p.m. – Aerial Refueling KC-135/C-17 Demo 1:32 p.m. – Red Bull 1:44 p.m. – Smoke-n-Thunder Race T-33 1:54 p.m. – Bomber Passes (B-29/B-25/B-1/B-2) 2:32 p.m. – Trojan Phlyers 2:47 p.m. – Twin Otter/Wings of Blue Canopy Jump 3:02 p.m. – Microjet 3:13 p.m. – Sports Gal/Melissa Burns 3:25 p.m. – Intermission 3:35 p.m. – Thunderbirds GALLERY: Thunderbirds visit Dyess AFB ahead of 'Wings Over West Texas' Air Show Times are subject to change. Stay updated by visiting the Dyess Facebook page. Visit the Wings Over West Texas webpage to learn about static displays, performers, and more. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
