Skip to content

History of a House Museum

Ashland, The Henry Clay Estate

About Ashland
For Further Exploration
About This Blog

For Further Exploration

My work related to Ashland’s history *in word and image* may also be found on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/historyofahousemuseum/ ; Twitter: https://twitter.com/AshlandHistory ; Instagram: https://instagram.com/AshlandHistory

And more to explore:

Ashland, The Henry Clay Estate official website

Pictorial history of Ashland by curator Eric Brooks: Images of America, Ashland The Henry Clay Estate

Biography of Clay by David and Jeanne Heidler: Henry Clay, The Essential American

Location of Ashland – Google Maps

Ashland, The Henry Clay Estate on Facebook

The Domestic Architecture of Benjamin Henry Latrobe, architect of the first Ashland mansion

George Washington’s Mount Vernon

The Family Legacy of Henry Clay: In the Shadow of a Kentucky Patriarch by Lindsey Apple

Remembering Father: James Brown Clay, Merchants, Materials, and a New Ashland

Share this:

Email
Facebook
Twitter
More

Print
LinkedIn
Reddit

Like this:

Like Loading...

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Enter your comment here...

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Email (required) (Address never made public)

Name (required)

Website

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out / Change )

You are commenting using your Google account. ( Log Out / Change )

You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out / Change )

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out / Change )

Connecting to %s

Notify me of new comments via email.

Notify me of new posts via email.

Instagram

Madeline McDowell Breckinridge (May 20, 1872-Nov 25, 1920) suffered from tuberculosis for most of her life. But she did not let it stop her work to make the world a better place, especially for the powerless and disenfranchised. After many years of hard work, Madeline lived to see the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution passed in 1920. She was present on January 8th when Gov. Edwin Morrow signed the bill making KY the 24th state to ratify. She lived only long enough to vote once in the 1920 presidential election. She had a stroke a few days later and passed away on Thanksgiving Day at the age of 48. This beloved woman was honored in many ways and still is to this day. The local Lexington paper published a separate memorial section of the paper with many tributes to Madeline's life and legacy. It was written of her: “What a charming and wonderful person she was. How great a loss [to us and]…to the country. A leader among women, she fought valiantly and brilliantly ever for what was right and sound. Great of heart, she possessed an orderly, a scintillating and an incisive intellect. Of the descendants of Henry Clay, she alone inherited his command of language, his power to sway and convince…” #WomensHistoryMonth #MadelineMcDowellBreckinridge #Ashland

Henry Clay's most famous descendant was his great-granddaughter, Madeline McDowell Breckinridge. Her life and legacy are specifically celebrated at Ashland, not only in the Kentucky historic marker on the grounds, which details her work, but in an upstairs room in the house dedicated to her that contains her desk, her leg brace, portraits of her and her husband, and so much more that reveals her incredible story. #WomensHistoryMonth #MadelineMcDowellBreckinridge #Ashland Learn more about Madge on Ashland's Women's Voices tours when they resume. henryclay.org/tours

Besides Henry Clay, many strong and big-hearted women have defined Ashland. In the early 20th century, it was great-granddaughters Nannette McDowell Bullock and renowned human rights activist Madeline McDowell Breckinridge. We will explore Madeline's legacy more in forthcoming posts. But after her death in November of 1920, Nannette celebrated her sister's life at Ashland, especially with a certain group of children: those of Lexington’s Lincoln school, which Madeline had founded. Nannette hosted an annual lawn party for the children in memory of her sister. Photo: 1921 party featuring Lincoln School students and Lexington's Civic League. #WomensHistoryMonth https://henryclay.org/tours/

One of the most interesting things I learned in my research into Ashland's history is how a strong public hospitality - including tours and artifacts - was at the heart of Ashland's life from the beginning. Henry Clay - an exceptionally public figure- started it, bringing guests into his private sphere and explaining the importance of his many American artifacts. His son James and wife Susan picked it up in the 1850s, bringing people through the newly-rebuilt house on guided tours --starring Henry Clay's artifacts-- explaining his importance. In the McDowell era, many of the family members proudly shared their home, now with many paintings and sculptures of their famous ancestor. Nettie - Nannette McDowell Bullock - was known for her quietly elegant tours. Her son Henry was so proud to show off the house, he would do so at any hour of the day. This once-private home has always possessed a pronounced public life. henryclay.org historyofahousemuseum.com

There would be no Ashland, The Henry Clay Estate today without this lady, Henry Clay's great-granddaughter, Nannette McDowell Bullock (December 18, 1859-July 5, 1948). Nannette moved to Ashland with her family in early 1883. She was 22 at the time and lived at Ashland for a decade before marrying. Long story, short, Ashland was in a precarious state in the early 20th century. The family tried but could no longer manage the estate (even after selling off much of it), developers were threatening to raze it for new housing, and the citizens of Lexington voted not to save the historic site with municipal funding. As the last living heir, Nannette set up the Henry Clay Memorial Foundation and left her inheritance to fund its purchase of the estate. Nannette died in 1948 and Ashland opened to the public in 1950. #WomensHistoryMonth #Ashland #HenryClayMemorialFoundation #nannettemcdowellbullock

Henry Clay's granddaughter, Anne Clay McDowell (February 14, 1837 – February 3, 1917) had lived at Ashland as a girl after both her parents died, and then again as a woman with her husband and children from 1883, when they brought the famous estate back into the family, until the end of her life. Anne played guitar and sang; this 1840s Martin parlor guitar at Ashland is believed to have been hers. Photo: Anne in Ashland's conservatory, early 20th century. Anne and Ashland had a unique and close relationship. Her obituary aptly summed it up: “Anne Clay McDowell died at her home, famous because it was the residence of her grandfather, the birthplace of her father, the home of her husband and her home.” Learn much more about Anne on Ashland's Women's Voices tour. henryclay.org/tours #womenshistorymonth

Archives

Archives

Categories

About This Blog
Architecture
Artifacts
Ashland General History
Farm
Grounds
Henry Clay
Henry Clay Era (1800-1852)
historic house museum
historic preservation
house museum
Interpretation
James and Susan Clay Era (1852-1866)
Kentucky University Era (1866-1882)
McDowell Era (1882-1950)
Museum Era (1950 – )
Preservation
Public Hospitality
Tours
Transfer of Ownership

Follow Blog via Email

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 3,363 other followers

Follow Us

Instagram
Twitter
Facebook

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

Post to

Cancel

Send to Email Address Your Name Your Email Address

Cancel

Post was not sent - check your email addresses!

Email check failed, please try again

Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy

%d bloggers like this: