MODESTE — A steel company that plans to build a major mill on the west side of Ascension Parish has asked the owners of the Mulberry Grove Plantation to stop destroying 19th-century buildings until the structures' historical significance can be determined.

WBRZ reported Monday that Mulberry Grove's owners had destroyed two 1890s-era outbuildings that likely served as homes for sharecroppers because they were difficult to insure. Two other small buildings are at the site. A nearby home at Mulberry Grove was built before the Civil War, contributing to the site's significance.

Hyundai Steel, responding Tuesday to the WBRZ report, said the Mulberry property is within the proposed 1,700-acre site that would hold its Louisiana Steel Mill.

"Until recently, four historic structures remained o

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