The home survived the war only to be totally destroyed on February 17, 1890, by a fire said to have been caused by a party guest who carelessly dropped a cigarette. Descendants of the Daniells say the fire started about 3 o'clock in the afternoon. The family was making plans for a seated dinner, but had gone to pick up the mail. Riding back to the house, they saw flames shooting from the shingled roof. The fire burned Windsor from the top down, making the conflagration impossible to put out.
Today, all that remains of Windsor are 23 Corinthian columns on the site. The family's descendants gave the ruins to the State Department of Archives in 1974 and the State has maintained the site since. The wrought iron staircase is now a part of nearby Alcorn State University. Windsor Ruins has appeared in several feature films, including Raintree County (1957), which starred Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Cliff.
