YOU ARE HERE – > 1880s It had been almost thirty years since the Ashland mansion had been rebuilt by Henry Clay’s son, James B. Clay …and the house had seen some serious wear. Kentucky University had used the mansion for many purposes, including the housing of its sizable Natural History Museum (with accompanying taxidermy … More The McDowells Update Ashland
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
YOU ARE HERE -> 1854-57 We made a promise some days ago to give an account of our visit to Ashland, which for so many years was the home of Henry Clay, a name dear to the American people… Ashland has often been described by abler pens than ours, and its name has gone forth … More “Henry Clay is dead and Ashland is a ruin…”
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
YOU ARE HERE -> 1920s Ashland endangered The people of America…make no mistake in paying homage to the memory of Henry Clay; but our debt of gratitude, my friends, will not be liquidated until the historic home of Henry Clay, his dearly beloved ‘Ashland,’ is rescued from the menace of encroachment by advancing civic development … More Ashland in the Path of the Bulldozer
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
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
YOU ARE HERE -> 1854-57 We made a promise some days ago to give an account of our visit to Ashland, which for so many years was the home of Henry Clay, a name dear to the American people… Ashland has often been described by abler pens than ours, and its name has gone forth … More “Henry Clay is dead and Ashland is a ruin…”
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
YOU ARE HERE -> 1920s Ashland endangered The people of America…make no mistake in paying homage to the memory of Henry Clay; but our debt of gratitude, my friends, will not be liquidated until the historic home of Henry Clay, his dearly beloved ‘Ashland,’ is rescued from the menace of encroachment by advancing civic development … More Ashland in the Path of the Bulldozer
