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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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167 years ago today. "The telegraph made the news of Clay's death instant and therefore indelible. Only hours passed before cities from Maine to Missouri began draping themselves in crepe and men from Savannah to St. Louis began pulling on black armbands. Washington, already slowed by summer's heat, came to a halt. President Millard Fillmore shut down the government, and Congress immediately adjourned. Members scattered to boardinghouses, hotels, and taverns, some to draft eulogies they would deliver the next day in the legislative chambers that Hendy Clay had deftly managed for almost a half century. Even after sunset, the bells continued to ring. Cannon at the Navy Yard were firing.... Losing Henry Clay was a uniquely personal event for the nation because his life had been the mirror of his country and its aspirations. In that, it was an extraordinary life. 'I will forgive your weakness,' wrote a student at Yale, who could have been speaking for the entire country, 'if you bow your head and weep for the departure of his noble spirit.'" ~Henry Clay: The Essential American (2010)

One highlight of a visit to Ashland: Henry Clay's coach. It was a gift from the people of Newark, NJ to Clay in 1833. He used it until his death in 1852, riding the rough roads between Lexington, KY and Washington, DC. The carriage remained at Ashland until after the Civil War when a Louisville wagonmaker bought it. In 1951 his son presented it back to Ashland, where it has been on display ever since. The coach was restored in 1992. #HenryClay #coach #carriage #19thc #transportation #roads #AmericanSystem Ashland, The @henryclayestate

Henry Clay long fought to keep the Union together but after his death, Civil War erupted. It even arrived at his beloved Ashland's doorstep. During the War Clay's Confederate son James had fled the country. His wife Susan and the children faced a frightening event at Ashland in 1862: the Civil War skirmish that took place on the grounds within view of the house. 294 Union troops faced John Hunt Morgan’s 1,800 troops on the morning of October 18th, resulting in four Union deaths, dozens wounded and an unknown number of Confederate casualties. Ashland opened its doors in a way it never had or would again: after the skirmish, the house temporarily served as a hospital for the wounded. Monument on the grounds of Ashland (erected 2006). #CivilWar #Kentucky #HenryClay #American #history Ashland, The @henryclayestate

Henry Clay’s fine French china, likely of the set he purchased while living in Washington, DC in 1833 from W.R. Kerr of Philadelphia. #HenryClay #finechina Ashland, The @henryclayestate #nationalhistoriclandmark

Henry Clay was a serious, scientific farmer. He wrote: "There is a great difference, I think, between a farm employed in raising dead produce for market, and one which is applied as mine is, to the raising of all kinds of live stock. I have the Maltese ass, the Arabian horse, the Merino and Saxe Merion sheep, the English Hereford and Durham cattle, the goat, the mule, and the hog. The progress of these animals, from their infancy to maturity, presents a constantly-varying subject of interest, and I never go out of my house without meeting with some of them to engage agreeably my attention." May 30, 1833 Ashland, The @henryclayestate has a fascinating exhibition in the Smokehouse all about Clay's farming and the enslaved individuals who did most of the work.

Late in his life, Clay was baptized. At home (why?), with this spectacular glass bowl (what?), and it's all here: https://historyofahousemuseum.com/2019/06/10/henry-clay-baptized-at-ashland-5/ Ashland, The @henryclayestate

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Architecture
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Ashland General History
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Henry Clay
Henry Clay Era (1800-1852)
historic house museum
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James and Susan Clay Era (1852-1866)
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