YOU ARE HERE ->1866-1879
After the Civil War, Kentucky University took ownership of Ashland. (SEE ALSO: Clay Family Loses Ashland, University of Kentucky Predecessor Moves In.)
Regent John B. Bowman
YOU ARE HERE ->1866-1879
After the Civil War, Kentucky University took ownership of Ashland. (SEE ALSO: Clay Family Loses Ashland, University of Kentucky Predecessor Moves In.)
Regent John B. Bowman believed that Kentucky University was to be permanently located at Ashland, so he made plans for the buildings and grounds to prepare them for University use.
The extant buildings at Ashland and the adjoining Woodlands estate had proved adaptable for University use, although “many of them were in a poor state of preservation,” as Bowman remarked when the University had first settled there (Hopkins, James F. The University of Kentucky: Origins and Early Years. (Lexington, KY: University of Kentucky Press, 1951). He described what they had to work with: “Over these grounds there are scattered about thirty separate buildings, which are used for educational purposes, professors’ residences, dormitories, club houses, mechanical shops, etc.” (Pyles, Henry Milton. “The Life and Work of John Bryan Bowman.” Diss., University of Kentucky, 1944.)
Since the University initially lacked the resources to embark on a major building campaign, the extant buildings would suffice. Bowman made plans to establish most University buildings on the Ashland and Woodlands estates: residences, dormitories, and lecture halls. The old slaves’ quarters were possibly converted for use as student housing and the mansion itself was presented as a residence to Bowman and his wife by the University Board, since Bowman refused monetary compensation. Other houses on the estates were offered to faculty members.
The Agricultural and Mechanical College situated at Ashland, in particular, had specific needs for experimental farming and mechanical shops. Bowman erected a large barn and stables on the grounds. The Mechanical Department’s shops for carpenters and blacksmiths were erected. Over 100 young men worked and learned a trade, while also helping maintain the buildings and grounds at Ashland.
In 1868 Bowman constructed a large, two-story brick building, the