A lifelong bachelor , John Burnside died in 1881 and left the estate to a friend , Oliver Beirne . It then went to William Porcher Miles , Beirne 's son-in-law . Following the death of Miles in 1899 , the property began to be divided up and the house began to fall into disrepair . The Mississippi River flood in 1927 and the Great Depression further endangered the property
Mississippi River flood in 1927
Great Mississippi Flood of 1927
The Houmas