Ashland is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. It is part of the MetroWest region. The population was 14,674 at the 2000 census.
The area now known as Ashland was settled in the early 1700s and inhabited prior to that by the Megunko Indians, to which Megunko Hill owes its name. Previously known as "Unionville", Ashland was incorporated in 1846, bearing the name of statesman Henry Clay's Kentucky estate, and is considerably younger than many of the surrounding towns. The establishment of the Boston to Albany railroad in the mid-1800s was key in the early development of Ashland, although it remained a mainly centralized residential town with limited industry until the mid 20th century.
Ashland is located in Eastern Massachusetts, bordered by Framingham on the northeast, Sherborn on the east, Holliston on the south, Hopkinton on the southwest, Southborough on the northwest.
