Ashland: The Henry Clay Estate

On September 13, 1804, Henry Clay entered into an agreement to purchase 125 acres on Todd’s Road just outside the city limits of Lexington, Kentucky. With this transaction, Clay began the creation of one of Lexington’s most important sites. Over the next two centuries, Ashland would be home to five generations of one of Kentucky’s first families. Ashland would also be the source of some of Kentucky’s finest horses; the location of a small but important Civil War skirmish; the birthplace of the state’s flagship university; the home to one of the state’s first museums; one of Lexington’s first subdivisions; and finally a National Historic Landmark. Many books have been written about Henry Clay, Ashland’s creator and most important resident, but this is the first to tell the story of his beloved farm and personal retreat.