Historic Henry Clay Estate heavily damaged

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - Crews have been out in Lexington today working to clean up roads, homes, and historic grounds following damage caused by yesterday’s severe storms.

The Henry Clay Estate saw extensive damage across their property.

“It’s sad. It’s a sad day for some of us,” said Holly Benson, a resident of Lexington. She said that she’s just glad the damage isn’t worse. “No people were hurt here. It could’ve been on a street or something, or gone down on a building.”

For many in this neighborhood, the grounds at Ashland--The Henry Clay Estate are part of their regular walking route. But on Saturday morning, things looked different to say the least.

“Yeah, it’s quite a mess,” said Ben Askren, a resident of Lexington. “So it’s an adventure. It looks very different.”

We’re told on the first assessment that there doesn’t appear to be any structural damage at the Henry Clay Estate. But the estate isn’t the only thing that holds history on these grounds, so do many of their trees that were uprooted by strong winds, including a 120-foot Norway Spruce.

“It really alters the landscape and how people perceive this place,” said Jim Clark, Executive Director for the Henry Clay Memorial Foundation.

Clark says they’re going to need some help cleaning up the mess left behind by severe storms.

“We know that with the support of our donors and friends of Ashland, we’ll get the place back wonderful. The more hands the lighter the work,” said Clark.

And folks in the neighborhood say that they’re ready to roll up their sleeves and get to work.

“Once we get power back on, I’ll be able to get in my garage, get the chainsaw out and we’ll help clean things up but until then I got to just walk the dog,” said Askren.

The Henry Clay Foundation says once they get a professional tree service crew on the grounds to do the heavy lifting, they’ll be looking for help from community volunteers with the rest of the cleanup.

Jim Clark with the Henry Clay Foundation says that they’re always looking for volunteers. You can find more information on their website.

Copyright 2023 WKYT. All rights reserved.