iCelebrate: A Whitehaven Christmas 2020

Historical Whitehaven Welcome Center in Paducah is well known for being decked out for the holidays! Usually there’s an open house with a tour, Santa visits and there’s fun for the whole family. But this year we have a pandemic. This year the Center will be decorated in Christmas finery for the holidays, but only the exterior of the home.

The community can still enjoy the outside of the home thanks to the Department of Transportation and the Conservation Stewardship Program. This will allow family enjoyment and social distancing!

Gina Harshman, travel and tourism supervisor at the welcome center said more than 400 people attended last year's open house and attendance seemed to be increasing each year. "The holiday season gives us a chance to show off this wonderful, historic building to those who live here," said Harshman. “We have many visitors who stop on their way through Paducah each year and enjoy this fantastic old mansion. We hope area residents will come out at the holiday season and see Whitehaven at its finest – even if this year, it’s from the outside.”

Whitehaven’s Welcome Center is open Monday-Saturday from 8am-4:30pm. The lobby is open 24 hours. Visit kentuckytourism. com/whitehaven-welcome-center or, call 270.554.2077 for more information.

Whitehaven

Whitehaven is a majestic landmark that is cherished by the citizens of Paducah and the surrounding areas. This gracious mansion was once destined to be destroyed, but was saved by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. The transportation cabinet saw a vision for this grand old home and restored it to an award winning welcome center.

Whitehaven possesses great architectural and historical significance. The main portion of the house, which was a two-story brick structure, built in the 1860s by Edward L. Anderson, a tobacco farmer and dealer. The residence remained in the Anderson’s family until 1903. It was then sold to Ed L. Atkins, who was a cashier for the American German Bank in downtown Paducah. According to the McCracken Co. deed records, the property was conveyed to Mr. Atkins by Norton B. Anderson on April 7, 1903 for the sum of $4,000. In 1908 James P. Smith, mayor of Paducah purchased the home. The Smith Family lived here until 1968. The house went through approximately 20 years of no real upkeep, Mother Nature and was heavily vandalized until 1981 when the State of Kentucky bought it and restored the home. It opened in 1983 as the only welcome center in the United States that sits inside a private residence.

In March of 1984, Whitehaven was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in the United States. That same year, a local group known as Paducah’s Growth Inc. purchased a collection of former Vice President Alben “Veep” Barkley’s memorabilia at an auction of the Barkley estate. Barkley was our 35th Vice President of the United States and a native of Lowes. The items decorate the inside of the mansion and can be seen once guided tours resume.*