Ashford is a town[2] in Houston County, Alabama, United States.

[3] For most of its history, it was a center for naval stores production, pulpwood harvesting, and cotton agriculture.

Ashford is located slightly northeast of the center of Houston County at 31°11′3″N 85°14′7″W / 31.18417°N 85.23528°W / 31.18417; -85.23528 (31.184032, -85.235286).

The Chattahoochee River, which forms the Georgia state line, is 12 miles (19 km) southeast of Ashford on US 84.

[4] In March 1888, the Alabama Midland Railway built a small depot of Victorian railroad architecture in Ashford to be a waystation along the Bainbridge-to-Montgomery route.

The original depot received additions at least twice—an enclosed warehouse and open loading dock were added to the east, followed by racially segregated passenger waiting rooms on the west side.

The depot faced two sidings that served for loading turpentine from the Adams Company still one block away, and pulpwood.

Cotton bales, fertilizer, and a single sweet potato crop were loaded from both sidings.

In the 1980s, concerned citizens founded a preservation committee, led by Jimmy Burgess, and received a grant to add a new roof to the building.

Former Mayor Bryan Alloway revived the depot preservation committee after his 2000 election.

The committee and Ashford City officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on November 17, 2005, to mark the end of Phase I of the reconstruction.

The City of Ashford's website is City of Ashford, Official Website Previous mayors of the City of Ashford: Jonathon Grecu, Rusty Burgess, Bryan Alloway 2020 Election: Mayor - Carole Barfield 257 votes (57%) Gary Gibson 194 votes (43%) Place 1 - John Wayne Massey (unopposed) Place 2 - Ronnie L. Whitehead 257 votes (58%) Benji McWaters 186 (42%) Place 3 - Josh Johnson replaced Alan Anderson.

The City of Ashford offers recreation activities throughout the year, including baseball, softball, soccer, and basketball.

The recreation ball fields are located behind Ashford High School on 8th Avenue.

In 2015, Ashford hosted the 2015 Alabama State Class "A" Baseball Tournament.

In 2021, the Ashford recreation boys 8u all-star team won the state championship in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and then went on to Laurel, Mississippi to play in the 2021 Dixie Youth World Series where they finished 3rd in the class AA division.

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,246 people, 865 households, and 635 families residing in the town.