Whitehaven (the Anderson-Smith House) is a historic plantation 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 or tourist information centre is a physical location that provides information to tourists. Types A visitor center may be a Civic ce ...

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, Tennesse ...

(I-24) near the state border with

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. 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, Limited-access road, expressway, or highway, at which drivers and passengers can rest, eat, or refuel without exiting onto secondary roads. Other names ...

. 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 molding (interchangeably spelled crown moulding in British and Commonwealth English) 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. ...

, 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 cu ...

with eight

Corinthian columns The Corinthian order (, ''Korinthiakós rythmós''; ) is the last developed and most ornate of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order, which was the earliest, ...

. 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 (colloquially Marshall Field's) was an American department store chain founded in 1852 by Potter Palmer. It was based in Chicago, Illinois and founded in the 19th century, it grew to become a large chain before Macy's, ...

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 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. 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 river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

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 the 35th vice president of the United States serving from 1949 to 1953 under President Harry S. Truman. In 1905, he was elected to local offices and in 1912 as a U.S. rep ...

(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