FORM 3

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 INITIAL STATEMENT OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940

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(Print or Type Responses)

1. Name and Address of Reporting Person *   ESLER SUSAN B 2. Date of Event Requiring Statement (Month/Day/Year) 01/29/2004 3. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol ASHLAND INC [ASH] (Last) (First) (Middle) 50 E. RIVERCENTER BOULEVARD 4. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer (Check all applicable) _____ Director _____ 10% Owner __X__ Officer (give title below) _____ Other (specify below) Vice President 5. If Amendment, Date Original Filed(Month/Day/Year) 02/05/2004 (Street) COVINGTON, KY 41012-0391 6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing(Check Applicable Line) _X_ Form filed by One Reporting Person ___ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person (City) (State) (Zip) Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned

1.Title of Security (Instr. 4) 2. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned (Instr. 4) 3. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5) 4. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5)

Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly.			SEC 1473 (7-02)
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Table II - Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)

1. Title of Derivative Security (Instr. 4)	2. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (Month/Day/Year)		3. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security (Instr. 4)		4. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security	5. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5)	6. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5)
	Date Exercisable	Expiration Date	Title	Amount or Number of Shares
Common Stock Units	  (2)	  (2)	Common Stock	5,828 (3)	$ 0 (1)	D	Â

Reporting Owners

Reporting Owner Name / Address	Relationships
	Director	10% Owner	Officer	Other
ESLER SUSAN B 50 E. RIVERCENTER BOULEVARD COVINGTON, KY 41012-0391	Â	Â	  Vice President	Â

Signatures

Jami K. Suver, Attorney-in-Fact		04/04/2005
**Signature of Reporting Person		Date

Explanation of Responses:

*	If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 5(b)(v).
**	Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
(1)	Converts to common stock on a one-for-one basis.
(2)	Common Stock Units acquired pursuant to Ashland's 1995 Deferred Compensation Plan as of 2-3-04, payable in cash or stock upon termination of service and exempt under Rule 16b-3. (One (1) Common Stock Unit in the 1995 Plan is the equivalent of one (1) share of Ashland Common Stock.)
(3)	This amount reflects the exclusion of 10 shares of Ashland Common Stock that were included on the insider's previously filed Form 3 due to an administrative error by the plan administrator.

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