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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

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Henry Clay’s great-granddaughter, Nannette McDowell, was married at Ashland, her home, in one of the most celebrated weddings of 1890s Kentucky. The wedding of Nannette and Dr. Thomas S. Bullock was celebrated on a Tuesday and Lexington was “all agog over the pending event…the State-at-large feels an interest in this evening’s nuptials…up to 300 guests at Ashland.” More: wp.me/p1GYYq-nH Ashland, The @henryclayestate

Happy Birthday, Henry Clay (April 12, 1777 – June 29, 1852), great American statesman, peacemaker, U.S. presidential candidate, Senator, Speaker of the House, attorney, farmer, beloved friend, family man, and founder of Ashland. #HenryClay Ashland, The @henryclayestate

Springtime at Ashland, The Henry Clay Estate is especially glorious with the carpet of tiny white blossoms that covers the grounds. Spring Beauty—often referred to as “Spring Beauties” —has been blooming every spring on the estate for generations. Claytonia virginica is the botanical name for this perennial, in honor of colonial Virginia botanist, John Clayton (1694-1773). It is also known as Eastern spring beauty, Virginia spring beauty, or fairy spud (!). The individual flowers bloom for three days, although the five stamens on each flower are only active for one day. Mowing of the Ashland lawn may not ensue until the Spring Beauties are done blossoming. #spring #beauty Ashland, The @henryclayestate More here: https://wp.me/p1GYYq-nF

“I make this gift to [the Henry Clay] Memorial Foundation in the hope that…said foundation may be enabled to acquire, preserve and maintain Ashland and the grounds immediately surrounding it as a public park and perpetual memorial…” Which, indeed, happened. We celebrate Nannette McDowell Bullock. Ashland, The @henryclayestate henryclay.org

1 More about Henry Clay’s great-granddaughter Nannette “Nettie” McDowell Bullock, the woman responsible for saving Ashland from destruction and preserving it for posterity. It opened to the public in 1950 and to this day shares Henry Clay and his family’s legacy. #WomensHistoryMonth 2 Nettie moved with her family to Ashland in 1883. She was 22 at the time & lived at Ashland until ten years later when she married Dr. Thomas S. Bullock. Their elegant April 1892 wedding at Ashland made news, especially for its electric lights, brought in specially for the occasion. 3 Lexington was “all agog over the pending event…up to 300 guests at Ashland… Street cars will run all night to Ashland. Electric lights have been introduced into the mansion…and will blossom from pink rosettes draping the ceiling…In the whole of Kentucky no more beautiful mise en scene could have been chosen for a wedding than Ashland…” 4 Nannette, her husband, & son Henry came back to live at Ashland in the early 20th century. She helped her mother Anne until her death in 1917. Her husband died in 1929 and Nannette and her son stayed on at Ashland until her own death in 1948. 5 During Nettie’s time at Ashland she opened up the estate to the public in unprecedented ways, for instance, the 150th Anniversary of Henry Clay’s birth in 1927 with 700 in attendance and the annual lawn party for children of the Lincoln School – in memory of her sister Madeline’s work. She also gave vistors tours of the house and grounds. 6 By the 1920s-30s, Ashland’s fate is uncertain; the land is increasingly valuable and the cost of maintaining the estate grew unwieldy. Her father Major McDowell had intended to preserve Ashland forever by passing it on to his heirs, but many forces worked against that plan. 7 Nettie’s siblings help support the farm and costs of the estate, but she takes care of the home expenses. By the late 1930s Nannette was working on a plan to save Ashland by creating a foundation. She was the last living McDowell heir -- all her siblings died before her. She established her will in 1936, which stipulated (next...)

More about Josephine, granddaughter-in-law then daughter-in-law of Henry Clay: 1 Youngest son of Henry Clay, John Morrison Clay (1821-1887), had inherited a 200-acre section of the Ashland estate upon his father’s death (1852), dubbed Ashland-on-Tates-Creek, where he operated a successful thoroughbred farm. Clay’s widow Lucretia lived with John until her death in spring 1864. 2 John and his niece Josephine had been corresponding. In 1864, he invited her & her three young daughters to come be his housekeeper. She made the long trip from Missouri to Kentucky during wartime. When she moved in, there was gossip in town about the 28-year-old widow living with the 43-year-old bachelor. 3 But when John Clay and Josephine Erwin married in 1866, gossip dissipated. Jo took an active role with John in caring for, breeding, training, and racing horses…and they both were extremely good at it. After John’s death in 1887, his wife Josephine continued to manage the farm, added 400 acres to it. 4 She fearlessly became the most successful woman owner and breeder in America. She holds the distinction of being the first woman to breed a Kentucky Derby winner, Riley, who won in 1890. Josephine retired in 1903 at the age of 67 and went on to become an accomplished writer. She died at 84 in 1920. 5 An obituary said of her: “Lexington loses perhaps the most remarkable woman of her generation, a writer of prose and poetry, a successful business woman, fearless and intrepid in spirit, brilliant in mind and admired for beauty, wit and all the womanly graces as well…” #WomensHistoryMonth #JosephineClay #Ashland Ashland, The @henryclayestate henryclay.org

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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

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