1. Benjamin Stark was an American merchant and politician in Oregon.
20 Facts About Benjamin Stark
1. 2.
Benjamin Stark later served in the Oregon House of Representatives before appointment to the United States Senate in 1860 after the death of Edward D Baker.
3.
Benjamin Stark later served in the Connecticut House of Representatives.
4.
Benjamin Stark was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on June 26,1820.
5.
Benjamin Stark's family moved to Connecticut where he graduated from Union School in New London after studying the classics.
6.
Benjamin Stark bought the land for speculation rather than as a home or commercial property, and so he continued sailing as a merchant and visited the claim only occasionally.
7.
Around the time Benjamin Stark left San Francisco in 1850 to set up shop in Portland, he discovered his claim was disputed.
8.
At a meeting in San Francisco with Daniel H Lownsdale, Stark reached a settlement with the other stakeholders which gave Stark sole title to a triangular section in what is downtown Portland between the Willamette River, Stark Street, and Ankeny Street.
9.
Later, another dispute between the parties arose after Benjamin Stark refused to part with two narrow blocks needed to connect the park blocks.
10.
Benjamin Stark was admitted to the bar that same year and in 1852 became a member of the Oregon Territory's House of Representatives.
11.
Benjamin Stark was a colonel and served in the 1853 hostilities between settlers and Native Americans during the Rogue River Wars.
12.
Benjamin Stark served on the Portland Public Schools board from 1852 to 1854.
13.
In 1860, Benjamin Stark was again elected to the Oregon House of Representatives, now representing Multnomah County after its creation in 1854, and now as a Democrat.
14.
Oregon Governor John Whiteaker appointed Benjamin Stark to replace Baker in the United States Senate and served from October 29,1861, to September 12,1862.
15.
Benjamin Stark was an advocate for slavery and originally opposed the creation of publicly financed primary schools.
16.
Benjamin Stark did not run in the election for a permanent replacement and was succeeded by Benjamin F Harding, who had been Speaker of the Oregon House during Stark's time there in 1860.
17.
Benjamin Stark accumulated a fortune selling plots of his land in what became Downtown Portland.
18.
Benjamin Stark was a member of the Connecticut State Prison Commission.
19.
Benjamin Stark died in New London, Connecticut, on October 10,1898, at the age of 78 and was interred in Cedar Grove Cemetery.
20.
In late 2017, activists proposed renaming Southwest Benjamin Stark Street for gay rights activist Harvey Milk, noting that Benjamin Stark was an unapologetic racist who advocated for slavery.