[4] When the town was still part of Windham, it was called Scienceville[5] due to there being "some families of more than ordinary education"[6] in the area.

[4] Hemlock bark was an important raw material used for leather tanning,[8] due to it being a good source of tannic acid.

[9] However, Ashland suffered a recession in the early 1850s when its tanning industry collapsed after the community exhausted its supply of hemlock bark.

Around the same time, the cotton and wool mills lost business due to being located inland, resulting in expensive transportation rates.

[citation needed] A local YMCA was opened on March 29, 1895, but closed due to a lack of support in 1901.

[10] According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 26.0 square miles (67 km2), all land.