#HistoricalNarratives

The recent destruction of Nottoway Plantation, the largest antebellum mansion in the American South, by fire in May 2025, has set off a nationwide reckoning about how difficult histories are remembered and monetized. As plans for rebuilding were swiftly announced and a new restaurant opened on the site within weeks, a complex conflict resurfaced—one where economic livelihood, collective memory, and contested historical meanings are entwined, placing tourism at its volatile heart (The Conversation).