Ashland is a town located 15 miles north of Richmond along Interstate-95 and historic Route 1 in Hanover County, Virginia, United States. Ashland is named after the Lexington, Kentucky estate of Hanover County native and statesman Henry Clay. It is the only incorporated town in Hanover County chartered by the Commonwealth of Virginia. Although comprising only one square mile when originally incorporated in 1858, today Ashland has grown through several annexations to a size of 7.12 square miles, one of Virginia's larger towns in terms of land area.