- Grade Levels:
- 4-12
- Length:
- 50 minutes
- Taping Rights:
- Unlimited
- MARC Record:
- Downloadable
- Web Site:
- KET Online
- Teaching Materials:
- See Below
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Located in Madison County near Richmond, White Hall was once the home of emancipationist Cassius Marcellus Clay (1810-1903). Clay was a naturalist, a newspaper publisher, and a well-known orator who served as U.S. minister to Russia from 1861 to 1869. Among his other accomplishments, Clay is credited with urging President Abraham Lincoln to sign the Emancipation Proclamation freeing American slaves.
White Hall is situated on a rise overlooking the Kentucky River. The oldest part of the house—the core of the building—was built in the late 1700s by Cassius Clay’s father. In the 1860s, Clay had half the house renovated and expanded. Among the innovations were ingenious plumbing and central heating systems, unusual for a 19th-century house.
As students move through White Hall’s stately rooms on this KET field trip, they learn about Clay’s long and varied career and about his involvement in both the U.S.-Mexican and Civil wars. They also learn about his daughter, Laura, who was active in the women’s rights movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and hear stories about the ghosts said to haunt White Hall to this day.
This program premiered on October 17, 2000.
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