Ashland for over 200 years has been a magical place for children to play. From Henry Clay’s own children and grandchildren to his son James and Susan’s ten children, to his granddaughter Anne Clay McDowell’s girls, the estate’s young occupants delighted in their surroundings. And it was not only the Clay children who grew up … More Children at Ashland
YOU ARE HERE -> 1950s-today When Ashland opened as a museum in 1950 the estate featured seventeen acres open daily to the public. Although the mansion was the primary focus, from the beginning the Henry Clay Memorial Foundation emphasized Ashland’s spacious grounds and encouraged visitors to “pause” before entering the mansion to see the grounds, … More Ashland Grounds as Public Park: The Formal Garden
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
