Category: Preservation

Clay Family Loses Ashland, University of Kentucky Predecessor Moves In

February 27, 2017

YOU ARE HERE -> 1860s Although Ashland had survived its first transfer of ownership (from Henry Clay’s widow Lucretia to his son James), remaining in family hands, after the Civil War it would not.  Due to James’s death in 1864, the financial hardship after the war, and complex dealings with settling the Ashland estate, James’s … More Clay Family Loses Ashland, University of Kentucky Predecessor Moves In

Historic Homestead as College Campus

January 27, 2016

YOU ARE HERE ->1866-1879 After the Civil War, Kentucky University took ownership of Ashland.   (SEE ALSO: Clay Family Loses Ashland, University of Kentucky Predecessor Moves In.) Regent John B. Bowman believed that Kentucky University was to be permanently located at Ashland, so he made plans for the buildings and grounds to prepare them for University … More Historic Homestead as College Campus

Clay Family Loses Ashland, University of Kentucky Predecessor Moves In

September 1, 2015

YOU ARE HERE -> 1860s Although Ashland had survived its first transfer of ownership (from Henry Clay’s widow Lucretia to his son James), remaining in family hands, after the Civil War it would not.  Due to James’s death in 1864, the financial hardship after the war, and complex dealings with settling the Ashland estate, James’s … More Clay Family Loses Ashland, University of Kentucky Predecessor Moves In

Ashland in Trouble

July 20, 2015

YOU ARE HERE -> late 1980s By the 1980s, the Ashland mansion had fallen into serious disrepair.  Bettie Kerr, director at Ashland after Lorraine Seay, describes how this happened: while some maintenance issues extended back to the McDowell era (1880s-1940s), after the 1950s, things began to quickly deteriorate.  Maintenance had not always been done well … More Ashland in Trouble