Ashland is the name of the

plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...

of the 19th-century

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

statesman

Henry Clay Henry Clay (April 12, 1777June 29, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the United States Senate, U.S. Senate and United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives. He was the seventh Spea ...

, located in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...

, in the central

Bluegrass region The Bluegrass region is a geographic region in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It makes up the central and northern part of the state, roughly bounded by the cities of Frankfort, Kentucky, Frankfort, Paris, Kentucky, Paris, Richmond, Kentucky, Ric ...

of the state. The buildings were built by enslaved people who also grew and harvested hemp, farmed livestock, and cooked and cleaned for the Clays. Ashland is a registered

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

. The

Ashland Stakes The Ashland Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in early April at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. It and the Ashland Oaks, the Kentucky Association racetrack's predecessor race, were named fo ...

, a

Thoroughbred horse race Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing in ...

Keeneland Race Course Keeneland Association, Inc. is an equine business based in Lexington, Kentucky. It includes two distinct divisions: the Keeneland Race Course, a Thoroughbred racing facility, and Keeneland Sales, a horse auction complex. It is also known for it ...

that has run annually since the race course first opened in 1936, was named for the historically important estate.

History of the estate

came to

from

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

in 1797. In 1804, he began buying land for the plantation outside the city's limits. He eventually became a major planter who enslaved 60 people and owned over . Among the enslaved people were Aaron Dupuy and

Charlotte Dupuy Charlotte Dupuy, also called Lottie (),
, Isaac Scott Hathaway Museum of Lexington, Kentucky.Charlotte ...

as well as their children Charles and Mary Ann Dupuy. Clay took them with him to Washington D.C. when his congressional term began in 1810, and they were held there for nearly two decades. In 1829, 28 years before the more famous ''

Dred Scott Dred Scott ( – September 17, 1858) was an enslaved African American man who, along with his wife, Harriet, unsuccessfully sued for the freedom of themselves and their two daughters, Eliza and Lizzie, in the '' Dred Scott v. Sandford'' case ...

'' challenge, Charlotte Dupuy sued Henry Clay for her freedom and that of her two children in Washington D.C. circuit court. She was ordered to stay in Washington while the court case proceeded, and lived there for 18 months, working for

Martin Van Buren Martin Van Buren ( ; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was the eighth president of the United States, serving from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as Attorney General o ...

, the next Secretary of State. Clay took her husband Aaron Dupuy and her children Charles and Mary Ann Dupuy with him when he returned to Ashland. The court ruled against Dupuy, and when she refused to return voluntarily to Kentucky, Clay had her arrested. Clay had Dupuy renditioned to

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

and had her held by his daughter and son-in-law, where she was enslaved for another decade. Finally, in 1840, Clay freed Charlotte and her daughter Mary Ann Dupuy, and in 1844, he freed her son Charles Dupuy."Charlotte Dupuy"
, '' 'The Half Had Not Been Told Me': The African American History of Lafayette Square (1795–1965)'', Preservation Nation'', accessed 21 April 2009''

The mansion

Using the profits of his forced-labor farming, Henry Clay used enslaved people to build his Federal style house in around 1806 (see

Federal architecture Federal-style architecture is the name for the classical architecture built in the United States following the American Revolution between 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815, which was influenced heavily by the works of And ...

). He had two wings added between 1811 and 1814, designed for him by

Benjamin Latrobe Benjamin Henry Boneval Latrobe (May 1, 1764 – September 3, 1820) was a British-American neoclassical architect who immigrated to the United States. He was one of the first formally trained, professional architects in the new United States, dr ...

. Inferior building materials, particularly a porous type of brick, resulted in an unstable structure. The building was likely damaged in the

New Madrid earthquake New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

and aftershocks of 1811–12. Clay's many repairs could never completely stabilize the house.

Later ownership

Clay divided the Ashland estate among three sons. After his father's death, son

James Brown Clay James Brown Clay (November 9, 1817 – January 26, 1864) was an American politician and diplomat who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives for Kentucky's 8th congressional district from 1857 to 1859. Early life and ed ...

owned and occupied Ashland and a surrounding tract of about . James Clay had the house razed in 1854, and rebuilding was completed by 1857. Local architect Thomas Lewinski designed the new structure, which used features of the original house: the footprint and foundation, floorplan, and massing, but Lewinski modernized the house stylistically. With many

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century It ...

features, the resulting

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word ''manse'' originally defined a property l ...

is a mix of

and

details. Inside, James Clay employed

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

features and decorated the home lavishly (see:

Victorian decorative arts Victorian decorative arts are the style of decorative arts during the Victorian era. Victorian design is widely viewed as having indulged in a grand excess of ornament. The Victorian era is known for its interpretation and Eclecticism in art, ...

) with imported furnishings purchased in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. James Clay rebuilt the house and his family lived there until his death in 1864. His widow Susan Jacob Clay sold the estate in 1866. Kentucky University purchased Ashland and used it as part of its campus. University founder and regent

John Bryan Bowman John Bryan Bowman (October 16, 1824 – September 21, 1891) was an American lawyer and educator, most notably as the founder of Kentucky University and the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky. He was the grandson of Kentucky frontie ...

occupied the mansion. The Agricultural and Mechanical College (Kentucky A & M) sat on Clay's former farm. During the Kentucky University period, Regent John Bowman used part of the mansion to house and display the University Natural History Museum. Kentucky University split into what became

Transylvania University Transylvania University is a private university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. It was founded in 1780 and is the oldest university in Kentucky. It offers 46 major programs, as well as dual-degree engineering programs, and is Higher educ ...

and the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

, and sold Ashland in 1882. Henry Clay's granddaughter Anne Clay McDowell and her husband Henry Clay McDowell purchased the estate (consisting of about and outbuildings) and moved in with their children in 1883. They remodeled and modernized the house, updating it with gas lighting (later, electricity),

indoor plumbing Indoor(s) may refer to: *the interior of a building A building or edifice is an enclosed Structure#Load-bearing, structure with a roof, walls and window, windows, usually standing permanently in one place, such as a house or factory. Building ...

, and telephone service. Their eldest daughter Nannette McDowell Bullock continued to occupy Ashland until her death in 1948. She founded the Henry Clay Memorial Foundation, which purchased and preserved Ashland. The historic house museum opened to the public in 1950.

Plantation name

It is unclear whether Henry Clay named the plantation or retained a prior name, but he was referring to his estate as "Ashland" by 1809. The name derives from the ash forest that stood at the site. Clay and his family lived at Ashland from approximately 1806 until his death in 1852 (his widow Lucretia Clay moved out in 1854). His political career led Clay to spend most of the years between 1810 and 1829 in

Washington, D.C Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

. Several cities, the city of

Ashland, Kentucky Ashland is a List of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in Boyd County, Kentucky, United States. The most populous city in Boyd County, Ashland is located upon the southern bank of the Ohio River at the state border with Ohio and near West ...

, in Boyd County, the city of

Ashland, Missouri Ashland is a city in Boone County, Missouri, United States. Ashland is part of the Columbia, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 4,747 at the 2020 census. History Ashland was founded in 1853. It was named for the Ashla ...

, in Boone County, the city of

Ashland, Oregon Ashland is a city in Jackson County, Oregon, United States. It lies along Interstate 5 in Oregon, Interstate 5 approximately 16 miles (26 km) north of the California border and near the south end of the Rogue Valley. The city's population w ...

, the town of

Ashland, Virginia Ashland is a town in Hanover County, Virginia, United States, located north of Richmond along Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 1. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 7,565, up from 7,225 at the 2010 census. Ashland is named after the L ...

and the city of

Ashland, Wisconsin Ashland is a city in Ashland County, Wisconsin, Ashland and Bayfield County, Wisconsin, Bayfield counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the county seat of Ashland County. The city is a port on Lake Superior, near the head of Chequamegon ...

, in Ashland County, were named in honor of the estate. The

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

of Ashland, Pennsylvania, in Schuylkill County, an anthracite coal mining town, was named in honor of the estate as well.

Notes

References

¹ Clay's first purchase was a tract. Contract at Ashland, The Henry Clay Estate. ² Clay put a notice in a local paper asking for the return of a lost horse and listed his home as Ashland.

External links

Official Website"Henry Clay, Presidential Contender"
from

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American Cable television in the United States, cable and Satellite television in the United States, satellite television network, created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a Non ...

's '' The Contenders'', broadcast from Ashland {{Museums in Kentucky Houses completed in 1814 Henry Clay National Historic Landmarks in Kentucky Historic house museums in Kentucky Plantations in Kentucky Plantation houses in Kentucky Museums in Lexington, Kentucky Museums established in 1950 Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Kentucky National Register of Historic Places in Lexington, Kentucky Houses in Lexington, Kentucky Benjamin Henry Latrobe buildings and structures 1950 establishments in Kentucky History of slavery in Kentucky 1814 establishments in Kentucky Italianate architecture in Kentucky