From the time Henry Clay bought his first 125 acres in 1804 until long after his death in 1852, Ashland was an important and successful farm that produced some of the finest livestock and crops in Kentucky and the nation. Henry Clay developed it into a world class farm, and by 1850 he had acquired over 600 acres and raised many crops, especially hemp, making Ashland a major supplier of hemp for rope and bagging. He also succeeded as a livestock breeder, raising some of the best Thoroughbreds in the country, introducing Hereford cattle to the US, providing fine mules to southern plantations, and raising award winning pigs and sheep. His descendants continued this agricultural excellence: his son James bred and raced Standardbreds and held frequent races on his track at Ashland; his youngest son John inherited part of the farm, and John Clay's Ashland on Tates Creek became one of the nation's most important Thoroughbred breeding farms, producing two Kentucky Derby winners and numerous stakes winners; Henry Clay McDowell restored Ashland to national prominence as a Standardbred farm; and Thomas Clay McDowell became one of only three people in history to breed, train, and own a Kentucky Derby winner in a single year, when his horse Alan-a-Dale won in 1902. Ashland remained a center for agricultural innovation and achievement until it was sold for development in the early 20th century. Archaeological excavations indicate that this area was the working side of the Ashland yard, where barns for the agricultural operation stood, and uncovered several barn foundations along with artifacts associated with horses and the remains of two young foals buried within one of the barns in the early 20th century.