Whitehaven: a welcoming stop for history lovers
Whitehaven offers everything you'd find at a typical highway rest stop — a place to park your car, stretch your legs and take advantage of restrooms and refreshments. But the historic Western Kentucky landmark, just off Interstate 24 between U.S. 45 and U.S. 62, gives visitors something else: a free look at a fascinating piece of Paducah's past.
Whitehaven is a far cry from the concrete-and-steel facilities that dot interstate highways. The main portion of the two-story brick structure was built in the 1860s, and the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Free tours are available daily from 1-4 p.m.
Included in the building is a room dedicated to Kentucky native and former Vice President Alben Barkley. Though the late vice president never lived there, it is now home to his vice presidential chair, his congressional roll top desk, his collection of walking canes and shaving mugs, the 1948 inaugural Bible and other memorabilia.
The building itself holds a storied history. Sold in 1903 and completely remodeled with a Classical Revival flavor, it was renamed Whitehaven.
In 1908, the home was purchased by Paducah Mayor James P. Smith and was renamed Bide-A-Wee, Scottish for "Come Rest A While," becoming a showplace of decorating and gardening. Sixty years later, however, the last member of the Smith family to live in the house left because the building was expected to be torn down to make way for the construction of I-24.
Instead, the building sat vacant for years and suffered severe damage from weather and vandalism. Its rescue and preservation came thanks to Paducah Community College, which bought the house and surrounding property, and state officials, including Gov. John Y. Brown, who agreed to support the renovation of the building for its use as a rest stop and Welcome Center.
The free tours include not only the Barkley exhibit but other parts of the house that boast an assortment of antiques and other furnishings appropriate to the 1903 Classical Revival period.
- by Ivonne Rovira, Paducah Reporter for HelloMetro
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