It is the picturesque little building that most Ashland visitors first encounter: The Keeper’s – or Gardener’s – Cottage. Adjacent to today’s modern parking lot, this original structure from Henry Clay’s time is a charmer. The Cottage was designed in 1846 by Thomas Lewinski, the Lexington architect who had helped Clay with some mansion remodeling, … More The Cottage At Ashland
You are here –> 1960s-1970s It was a distinctly different time at Ashland, The Henry Clay Estate, historic house museum… One highlight of visiting Ashland in the 1960s and ’70s was Gypsy the cat. She came to Ashland in 1962 and lived for fourteen years in the mansion. She became quite well-known and “people…are disappointed if … More The Cat Who Lived in the Museum
YOU ARE HERE -> today 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 … More Spring Beauty at Ashland
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 -> 1950s Many 1950s visitors to Ashland, The Henry Clay Estate, the newly opened historic house museum in Lexington, Kentucky, would never have realized that the mansion continued to be a private home. This reality was downplayed—if not hidden—from public view for nine years. Museum Director Lorraine Seay’s public hospitality was complicated … More Living in the Museum
YOU ARE HERE -> 1950s-1970s Unlike many historic house museums, the public display of Ashland’s collection began during the domestic life of the founder’s—Henry Clay’s—home some 150 years before. The coexistence of home and museum actually has a long history at Ashland; exhibiting and interpreting artifacts for the public has been occurring for almost two … More Interpreting Henry Clay in a Charming Home Environment
YOU ARE HERE -> 1880s-1940s When Henry Clay’s son James and his wife Susan left Ashland during the Civil War, they placed their precious Clay heirlooms safely in family hands. Their family line would retain a large portion of Henry Clay artifacts, many of which eventually found their way back to Ashland after 1950. But … More Giving the Impression that Henry Clay “may return at any moment”
