Whitehaven (the Anderson-Smith House) is a historic house in Paducah, Kentucky, in use since 1983 as the Kentucky

welcome center A visitor center or centre (see American and British English spelling differences), visitor information center, tourist information center, is a physical location that provides tourist information to visitors. Types of visitor center A visit ...

Interstate 24 Interstate 24 (I-24) is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It runs diagonally from I-57, south of Marion, Illinois, to Chattanooga, Tennessee, at I-75. It travels through Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, ...

(I-24) near the state border with

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. It is the only historic house in the United States also used as a

rest area A rest area is a public facility located next to a large thoroughfare such as a motorway, expressway, or highway, at which drivers and passengers can rest, eat, or refuel without exiting onto secondary roads. Other names include motorway servi ...

. The house was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on March 1, 1984.

Construction

In 1865, tobacco dealer Edward L. Anderson completed construction of a simple two-story, brick farmhouse, the bricks for which had been fired in a pit on the grounds. The house remained in the Anderson family until sold to a local businessman, Edward Lafayette Atkins, in 1903. Atkins commissioned his friend, architect Alda Lafayette Lassiter to remodel the house in the Classical Revival style. Lassiter added a grand staircase, elaborate plaster ceilings with

crown molding Crown moulding is a form of cornice created out of decorative moulding installed atop an interior wall. It is also used atop doors, windows, pilasters and cabinets. Historically made of plaster or wood, modern crown moulding installation ...

, and a large

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

with eight

Corinthian columns The Corinthian order (Greek: Κορινθιακός ρυθμός, Latin: ''Ordo Corinthius'') is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order w ...

. The house was painted white, and Atkins named it Whitehaven. In 1908, after the death of Atkins' wife, Atkins sold the house to James P. Smith, mayor of Paducah. The Smiths made many changes, hiring

Marshall Fields Marshall Field & Company (commonly known as Marshall Field's) was an upscale department store in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in the 19th century, it grew to become a large chain before Macy's, Inc acquired it in 2005. Its eponymous founder, Mar ...

to do interior decorating. Smith added a storm shelter in the back yard and converted the attic into additional bedrooms for their six children. Nell Smith changed the name of the now 22-room house to "Bide-A-Wee" ("Stay awhile") to honor her Scottish heritage, and she and her daughter created

formal gardens Garden design is the art and process of designing and creating plans for layout and planting of gardens and landscapes. Garden design may be done by the garden owner themselves, or by professionals of varying levels of experience and expertise. ...

on the property.

Decline

The last member of the Smith family moved out of the house in 1968, and it was left with caretakers who seem to have both abused the house and sold fixtures from it. After the caretakers themselves moved out in 1979, vandals broke every remaining pane of glass but one, and water damage rotted ceilings, floors, and portico. A portion of the east wall collapsed.

Restoration

In 1981 the Smith family sold the parcel to Paducah Junior College, which planned to use the property in expanding the college. The college did not want to demolish the house, but it did not have the money to restore it either. Later that year, Governor

John Y. Brown Jr. John Young Brown Jr. (December 28, 1933 – November 22, 2022) was an American politician, entrepreneur, and businessman from Kentucky. He served as the 55th governor of Kentucky from 1979 to 1983, and built Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) into a ...

and Secretary of Transportation Frank Metts decided that the house could serve as the I-24 welcome center. There was opposition from other tourism-dependent counties, which wanted a modern welcome center nearer the Interstate and the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

and believed that restoring the mansion benefited Paducah and McCracken County at the expense of other nearby tourist areas. After a brief archaeological investigation, the house was carefully restored using as much original material as possible. The kitchen wing was partially demolished and the remainder adapted to serve as a welcome center, with restrooms, information desk, and storage areas. Three outbuildings — the gazebo, storm shelter, and carriage house — were also saved and repurposed. Part of the second floor of the house was devoted to displaying memorabilia of Vice President

Alben Barkley Alben William Barkley (; November 24, 1877 – April 30, 1956) was an American lawyer and politician from Kentucky who served in both houses of Congress and as the 35th vice president of the United States from 1949 to 1953 under Presiden ...

(1877-1956). The welcome center, renamed "Whitehaven," was officially opened on June 23, 1983..

References

{{National Register of Historic Places National Register of Historic Places in McCracken County, Kentucky Buildings and structures in Paducah, Kentucky Houses in McCracken County, Kentucky Rest areas in the United States Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Kentucky Neoclassical architecture in Kentucky Interstate 24 Borders of Kentucky Transportation in McCracken County, Kentucky 1865 establishments in Kentucky Houses completed in 1865