Henry Clay’s Life and Legacy: A Walking Tour of Downtown Lexington

(11 reviews)

Lexington, Kentucky audio tour: Henry Clay’s Life and Legacy: A Walking Tour of Downtown Lexington

This is a 1.5mi walking tour

It takes an average of 75 mins to complete.

Lexington, Kentucky

The United States

$9.99

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About the Tour

Two hundred years ago, Lexington was at the forefront of commerce, culture, and education on the western frontier, and was known as “the Athens of the West.” It was also home to one of American history’s most important statesmen: Henry Clay, Secretary of State under President John Quincy Adams, and a skillful lawyer who was no stranger to the Supreme Court.

On this stroll through Lexington, you’ll experience the city through Henry Clay’s eyes, walking where he walked and seeing what he saw.

This walking tour begins right where Henry Clay had his start in Lexington: at his Law Office and first home on Mill Street. You’ll make your way to Transylvania University, where Clay served on the faculty as a professor of law and politics at 28. From there, you’ll see marvelous examples of Lexington’s early architecture in the historic homes and buildings around Gratz Park, a who’s who of Lexington elite in the 1800s.

I’ll reveal stories about buildings that were lost to the passage of time, such as the Postlethwait Tavern turned Phoenix Hotel, where the elite did business and socialized. You’ll also find out about Clay’s involvement in the slave trade at key sites such as Cheapside Slave Market (now the Henry A. Tandy Centennial Park) and Megowan’s Slave Jail.

On this Henry Clay walking tour, you’ll have the opportunity to:

Explore the places where he worked and rested
Learn how his political career influenced Lexington’s development
Examine how his experiences in Lexington helped form his political ideology
Visit Thomas January’s Hemp House and understand how Lexington’s hemp industry funded its rise to prominence
See the way slavery permeated Lexington’s public life and Henry Clay’s private life
Learn about the beginnings of Kentucky’s famous horse industry on the way to Phoenix Park

After passing the Christ Church Cathedral, where Clay became an episcopalian late in his life, the tour finishes back at Henry Clay’s Law Office.

By the end of this 75-minute walking tour, you’ll have a new appreciation for the roles played by Henry Clay and his hometown Lexington in the formation of our nation’s history.

Tour Producer

Henry Clay Memorial Foundation

1 tour

The Henry Clay Memorial Foundation exists to promote the legacy of Henry Clay, to share his continued relevance locally and nationally as a great statesman, and to preserve his beloved “Ashland” as a testament to his life and his love of Kentucky and country.

The Henry Clay Memorial Foundation owns and operates the Ashland Estate today and is dedicated to preserving Henry Clay’s historic estate and important legacy for future generations. Governed by a diverse volunteer board of directors, the Foundation is working to ensure Ashland remains a vibrant and progressive National Historic Landmark and community resource.

Preview Location

Location 20

Old Fayette County Courthouse

Stop here in front of the old courthouse, on your left. We'll be here a few minutes, so you might want to find a place to sit where you can see it.

This magnificent Richardson Romanesque courthouse is the fifth courthouse to serve Lexington, and the fourth to stand on this ... Stop here in front of the old courthouse, on your left. We'll be here a few minutes, so you might want to find a place to sit where you can see it.

This magnificent Richardson Romanesque courthouse is the fifth courthouse to serve Lexington, and the fourth to stand on this plot. Although this Courthouse opened in 1900, almost 50 years after Henry Clay's death, there is a bell housed in the cupola at the very top of the building which has hung and rung in every Lexington courthouse since 1806.

In over five decades of practice, Henry Clay handled many cases in the courthouses that preceded this one. At one time Clay may have even had an office across from the courthouse on Market Street, now the site of Henry Clay's Public House.

Although Henry Clay spent much of his life on politics, but he could always resume his legal practice when he needed income. For example, after the First Bank of the United States closed, runaway inflation caused an economic downturn called the Panic of 1819. Henry Clay’s own assets were hard hit, and he left Congress and returned home to secure his finances. He found employment collecting debts for the brand-new Second Bank of the United States, and saved himself from financial ruin.

As a bank superintendent, Henry Clay used his legal experience to confiscate the property of indebted companies. Eventually, the people of Kentucky resented the Bank’s aggressive debt collection, and blamed it for the crisis. The Kentucky legislature instituted a hefty tax, attempting to force the Bank of the United States out of the State.

Clay also defended the National Bank when debt collection cases ascended to the higher courts. The most prominent case was the 1824 Supreme Court case Osborne v Bank of the United States. Clay worked closely with Massachusetts senator Daniel Webster to successfully defended the Bank of the United States from Ohio’s burdensome tax on the bank.

Henry Clay also defended the Bank of the United States as a politician, and it became a pillar of his American System. He believed a national currency would foster unity in the nation. However, President Andrew Jackson and his followers opposed the national bank, and so the Bank became a central issue in the Election of 1832. Clay himself ran for President. But Jackson won and immediately vetoed a bill to extend the bank’s charter. The Bank of the United States became was privatized in February of 1836, losing its role as the regulator of American currency.

Let's get going again. From here, walk across the front of the courthouse on Main Street towards the corner. Make sure the road is to your right as you go.

The shortage of circulating money after Andrew Jackson tore down the Bank of the United States fed into another financial crisis: the Panic of 1837. Once again, Henry Clay was in a tight spot financially, and he found himself on the opposite end of the debt collector’s desk. This might well have been the end of Henry Clay’s career. Fortunately for Clay, a group of his friends anonymously paid off his debt.

Continue along main street to the corner ahead. Read More

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Major Landmarks

Henry Clay's Law Office
Blue Grass Trust-Historic Preservation
Transylvania University
Gratz Park
Fifth Third Bank Pavilion at Henry A. Tandy Centennial Park
Old Fayette County Court House
Phoenix Park
Christ Church Cathedral

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Getting There

Route Overview

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Start location
176 N Mill St, Lexington, KY 40507, USA
Total distance

2km
Final location
201 W Short St # 102, Lexington, KY 40507, USA
Distance back to start location

68.47m

Directions to Starting Point

The tour begins in front of Henry Clay's Law Office at 176 N. Mill Street. Public (paid) parking is available on Second Street.

Show Directions

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Tips

Places to stop along the way

If you're interested in learning more about local history, stop by the Lexington History Museum, or pop into the Old Fayette County Court House, both on the route of the tour.

Best time of day

From dawn to dusk. Try to avoid rush hour traffic between 5:00 and 5:30 pm.

Precautions

Be careful crossing the streets, especially where there is no designated crosswalk.

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