Leander Clark (July 17, 1823 - December 22, 1910) was an American businessman,

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

state legislator,

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

officer during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, and

Indian agent In United States history, an Indian agent was an individual authorized to interact with American Indian tribes on behalf of the government. Background The federal regulation of Indian affairs in the United States first included development of t ...

who was the namesake for Leander Clark College.Henry W. Ward (1911),
Western, Leander-Clark College, 1856-1911
', Otterbein Press, Dayton, Ohio. Clark was born July 17, 1823 in Wakeman, Huron County,

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, where he spent his childhood on his family's

farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used ...

. He was educated in the public schools and at the Academy of Oberlin College. In 1846 he moved from Ohio to

Port Washington, Wisconsin Port Washington is the county seat of Ozaukee County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on Lake Michigan's western shore east of Interstate 43, the community is a suburb in the Milwaukee metropolitan area 27 miles north of the City of Mil ...

where he worked as a surveyor, in a

drug store A pharmacy (also called "drugstore" in American English or "community pharmacy" or "chemist" in Commonwealth English, or rarely, apothecary) is a retail shop which provides pharmaceutical drugs, among other products. At the pharmacy, a pharmaci ...

owned by an older brother, and as deputy sheriff. In 1849, he undertook an overland journey to

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

to join the

Gold Rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New ...

there. In California, he engaged in

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic ...

, packing, and trading, principally in the vicinity of Shasta and Yreka. He returned east via sea and the isthmus of Panama in 1852 after accumulating between $3,000 and $4,000.History of Tama County Chapter XIII
, Union Publishing Company, Springfield, Illinois. 1883. Transcribed by Iowa GenWeb Project and accessed online July 15, 2010. In 1852, after his sojourn in California, he settled in

Tama County, Iowa Tama County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,135. Its county seat is Toledo. The county was formed on February 17, 1843 and named for Taimah, a leader of the Meskwaki Indians. Geogr ...

. In 1855 he became a justice of the peace in Tama County, in 1857 he began a four-year term as

county judge The term county judge is applied as a descriptor, sometimes as a title, for a person who presides over a county court. In most cases, such as in Northern Ireland and the Victorian County Courts, a county judge is a judicial officer with civil ...

, and in 1861 he began a term as the county's representative in the

Iowa General Assembly The Iowa General Assembly is the legislative branch of the state government of Iowa. Like the federal United States Congress, the General Assembly is a bicameral body, composed of the upper house Iowa Senate and the lower Iowa House of ...

. After the outbreak of the Civil War in 1862, he resigned his legislative seat to enlist in the 24th Iowa Volunteer Infantry Regiment. He enlisted as a private but was elected captain of his company. He remained in the Army throughout the war, receiving minor wounds at the battles of

Champion Hill Champion Hill is a football stadium in East Dulwich in the London Borough of Southwark. It is the home ground of Dulwich Hamlet. History Dulwich Hamlet began playing at the ground in 1912. 'The Hill' was formerly one of the largest amateur grou ...

(

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

) and Winchester (

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

). He was promoted to major in September 1864 and lieutenant colonel in January 1865 and mustered out in August 1865. Upon returning to civilian life after the war, he served another term in the General Assembly, and in 1866 became

for the Sac and Fox. In 1882,

Clark Township, Tama County, Iowa Clark Township is one of the twenty one townships of Tama County, Iowa, United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North Amer ...

was named in honor of Judge Leander Clark. This is documented on page 662 of the book "History of Tama County Iowa, 1883". Clark became wealthy through the buying and selling of

land Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of the planet Earth that is not submerged by the ocean or other bodies of water. It makes up 29% of Earth's surface and includes the continents and various isla ...

, first in Iowa and later also in

the Dakotas The Dakotas is a collective term for the U.S. states of North Dakota and South Dakota. It has been used historically to describe the Dakota Territory, and is still used for the collective heritage, culture, geography, fauna, sociology, econo ...

and

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

. He also served for many years as president of the Toledo Savings Bank in Toledo, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

of Tama County where he made his home.

Support for college

In 1902, Western College, located in Toledo, announced that it would rename itself in honor of anyone who would donate $50,000 to start an

endowment fund A financial endowment is a legal structure for managing, and in many cases indefinitely perpetuating, a pool of financial, real estate, or other investments for a specific purpose according to the will of its founders and donors. Endowments are of ...

to help the school resolve its financial troubles. The following year, Clark responded to this announcement with a promise to donate that amount if the college could raise an additional $100,000 for its permanent endowment before January 1, 1906. The college met that challenge in 1905, due largely to a $50,000 donation from

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans i ...

. Accordingly, in 1906 Western College changed its name to Leander Clark College in honor of Clark's efforts to help the school achieve financial stability. In spite of that assistance, the college went

bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

and merged with Coe College in 1919.Western College - A Brief History
, Coe College Archives website, accessed June 21, 2010Mike Donahey
Leander Clark College
''The Times-Republican'' (Marshalltown, Iowa), August 2009 After the merger, one of Clark's heirs filed a lawsuit asking for return of the funds that Clark had provided to the college. The lawsuit asserted that the college had agreed to operate as an educational institution named for Leander Clark, and that the college breached its contract with Clark when it ceased to exist under his name. In 1922, the Supreme Court of Iowa decided the case in favor of the college, finding that the primary purpose of Clark's gift was not to perpetuate his name, but to support education.Lupton et al. v. Leander Clark College (Supreme Court of Iowa, April 4, 1922)
187 ''Northwestern Reporter'' 496.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Leander 1823 births 1910 deaths Businesspeople from Iowa Members of the Iowa House of Representatives People from Toledo, Iowa People from Wakeman, Ohio People of Iowa in the American Civil War People of the California Gold Rush United States Indian agents Oberlin College alumni Iowa state court judges Union Army officers American real estate businesspeople Patrons of schools People from Yreka, California 19th-century American businesspeople 19th-century American judges 19th-century American philanthropists Military personnel from California