152
Years
30+
Mayors
25
Presidents
5
Generations
2
World Wars
1
City
It started with a man named Isaac Newton Pollock and a mercantile general store on 15th Street in Ashland, Kentucky. The year was 1874 and Ulysses S. Grant was president. The Civil War had ended less than a decade before. And in a small Kentucky river town still finding its footing, Pollock opened his doors and began what would become one of the longest-running businesses in the history of this city.
Over the decades the store evolved from a general mercantile into a jewelry and gift destination, moving with the city it served. The physical location changed a handful of times, starting on 15th Street before moving to the Camayo Arcade in 1961, then adding locations at the Mid-Town Shopping Center and Cedar Knoll Galleria. Through every move, through every decade, the name stayed the same. And so did the commitment to the people of Ashland.
Ashland’s Jeweler
Since 1874.
By the time Clay Hill's grandparents, Clayton and Virginia Hagans, bought the place from Pollock's niece in 1955, it had already spent eight decades weaving itself into the fabric of this community. They relocated it to the arcade facing Winchester Avenue and kept building what Isaac Newton Pollock had started. A place Ashland could trust.
Clay's parents, David and Leslie Hill, began working there in 1985, and Clay himself was immersed in the business from the beginning, folding boxes and washing windows at 12, delivering packages in connection with a burgeoning bridal registry at 16. He went off to the University of Kentucky, played soccer, studied business, and eventually came home to Ashland to take over the store his family had spent decades building.
He came home with something extra.
A Family Takes the Helm.
The Education That Changed Everything.
In 1998 Clay traveled to California and earned his Graduate Gemologist degree from the Gemological Institute of America, the most respected gemological authority in the world. He joined the American Gem Society and became a Certified Gemologist Appraiser in 2001. These are not titles that come easily. They represent years of rigorous study and a commitment to knowing more about diamonds and gemstones than almost anyone else in the region. Clay brought that knowledge back to Ashland, and it changed what Pollock's could offer.
In 2003, Clay consolidated three locations into the current freestanding store at 913 Winchester Avenue, with its own parking lot, a 5,000 square foot space including a 2,800 square foot showroom. For the first time in the store's history, everything was under one roof, bigger and brighter and built for the next generation of Ashland families.
What has not changed is the way Clay and his team approach every person who walks through the door. When you sit down with Clay you are not sitting across from a salesperson chasing a number. You are sitting with someone who wants you to leave knowing exactly what you bought, why it is worth what you paid, and why you can trust it completely.
That education piece matters more than most people realize. Clay has spent his career protecting customers through knowledge, explaining the difference between the three accredited gem labs in the world and the lesser certification houses that have given parts of the industry a questionable reputation. He grades accurately. He prices fairly. And he tells you the truth even when the truth is not what you hoped to hear.
What Has Never Changed.
Over three decades at the helm, Clay has navigated everything Ashland and the world have thrown at him. September 11. The blood diamond controversy. The recession of 2008 and 2009. Gold prices skyrocketing. The rise of lab-grown diamonds. The decline of coal, steel, and rail jobs that once anchored this community. Through all of it, Pollock's stayed open and stayed loyal to a city that has returned that loyalty in kind.
Today Pollock's stands as the second-oldest business in Ashland, behind only Ashland Milling. It is one of the oldest continuously operating jewelry stores in the United States. And it is still exactly what Isaac Newton Pollock intended when he first opened those doors in 1874. A place this community could count on.
152 Years Later.
