White Hall State Historic Site


White Hall State Historic Site is a park in Richmond, Kentucky, southeast of Lexington.

White Hall

The site's major feature is White Hall, the home of Kentucky legislator Cassius Marcellus Clay and Mary Jane Warfield Clay. He was an anti-slavery newspaper publisher, politician, soldier and Minister to Russia through the Lincoln, Johnson and Grant administrations. He published True American for nearly 25 years.
This restored 44-room Italianate began as a 7-room structure built in 1798-1799 by General Green Clay. It was expanded and remodeled in the early 1860s to the structure seen today.
The site became part of the state park system in 1968.
On April 12, 2011 White Hall was designated as a national historic site in journalism by the Society of Professional Journalists, because of Clay's career as a publisher.

Restoration

The house's restoration was completed and open to the public in 1971 under the leadership of Kentucky's First Lady Beula C. Nunn, with assistance of the Kentucky Mansions Preservation Foundation. In addition to the heirloom and period furnishings, White Hall has many unique features for its day, including indoor plumbing and central heating.