How Ashland, Virginia came to have one of the best Main Streets in America

ASHLAND, Va. — Christine Holzem enjoys a connection to Ashland like no other.

"When I was 12, I would ride my horse into town and we would be welcomed,” she recalled. “We went to the local ice cream place called Mayberry’s and they would give me ice cream. They would give my horse water.”

Her family moved to Ashland, affectionately called the “Center of the Universe” by locals, in the 1970s when her father, Art McKinney, founded his own engineering company along South Railroad Avenue.

Before he passed, he purchased several buildings in Downtown Ashland to preserve the property for generations.

Art is even memorialized in a massive train mural that Amtrak passengers enjoy as they ride north through town.

Now, as the treasurer of the Downtown Ashland Association (DAA), Holzem is celebrating as the town has received Main Street America accreditation for the 11th year in a row.

DAA's marketing director Louise Keeton applauded Ashland’s near perfect rating based on six Community Evaluation Standards.

They include broad-based community commitment to:

• Revitalization
• Inclusive leadership and organizational capacity
• Diversified funding and sustainable program operations
• Strategy-driven programming
• Preservation-based economic development
• Demonstrated impact and results

"Main Street America only has a little over 1000 main streets in the entire United States that meet their accreditation levels. Downtown Ashland is one of them,” Keeton said. “We're so proud that our mission to amp up Downtown Ashland, to cheerlead our businesses, to keep historic preservation as well as work toward the vitality of our future is being recognized on this national level.”

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Holzem pointed out new buildings sit next to historic and revitalized facades.

Plans are in the works to bury powerlines and improve infrastructure.

In 2023 alone, the association secured two grants totaling $175,000 from the Virginia Main Street Program, funding free workshops, business handbooks, pitch competitions, and mentoring programs.

These efforts foster a business-friendly environment and promote local patronage through partnerships with organizations like Market Ashland Partnership and Hanover Chamber of Commerce, according to a press release.

About 50 years later and Holzem said Ashland is thriving.

“[My father] chose Ashland after years of being successful with companies in Richmond, but he chose it he chose it for its historic preservation,” Holzem said. “He'd be delighted with where Ashland is today.”

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