White Hall

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Historical marker #2185 commemorates White Hall State Historic Site, located in Richmond, Kentucky. White Hall was the home of entrepreneur General Green Clay and emancipationist and politician, General Cassius Marcellus Clay.

An astute businessman and politician, General Green Clay acquired massive amounts of land through land surveying. In addition, Clay was the owner of taverns, mills, furnaces, distilleries, ferries, and a resort. General Green Clay had his home, which tradition holds was named Clermont, built in 1798-1799. Clermont was a seven room Georgian brick house. At the time of his death in 1828, Green Clay was arguably the largest land owner and slave holder in Kentucky.

Green Clay's youngest son, Cassius M. Clay, inherited the family home. In the 1860's, Cassius M. Clay and his wife, Mary Jane Warfield Clay, added on to the original house. Built in the Italianate style, the new structure has a total of forty-four rooms including hallways and closets. Cassius stated that Clermont, "the old building, after the English manner, was preserved almost intact." The new home also boasted approximately ten thousand square feet and, at the time it was built, had very modern technology including central heating and an indoor bathroom.

After Cassius M. Clay’s death in 1903, White Hall was put up for auction and purchased by a grandson, Warfield Bennett. The home was donated to the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1968 by descendants. The mansion opened to the public as a state site in 1971.