Benjamin Stark (June 26, 1820October 10, 1898) was an American merchant and politician in

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...

. A native of

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a U.S. state, state in the Deep South and South Central United States, South Central regions of the United States. It is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 20th-smal ...

, he purchased some of the original tracts of land for the city of

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

. He later served in the

Oregon House of Representatives The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of 65,000. The House meets in the west wing of t ...

before appointment to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and ...

in 1860 after the death of

Edward D. Baker Edward Dickinson Baker (February 24, 1811October 21, 1861) was an American politician, lawyer, and US army officer. In his political career, Baker served in the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois and later as a U.S. Senator from Oregon ...

. A Democrat, Stark served in the Senate from 1861 to 1862. He later served in the

Connecticut House of Representatives The Connecticut State House of Representatives is the lower house in the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The house is composed of 151 members representing an equal number of districts, with ea ...

Early life

Benjamin Stark was born in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, on June 26, 1820. His family moved to

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

where he graduated from Union School in

New London New London may refer to: Places United States * New London, Alabama *New London, Connecticut * New London, Indiana * New London, Iowa *New London, Maryland * New London, Minnesota *New London, Missouri *New London, New Hampshire, a New England tow ...

after studying the classics. Stark then graduated from the

Hebron Academy Hebron Academy, founded in 1804, is a small, independent, college preparatory boarding and day school for boys and girls in grades six through postgraduate in Hebron, Maine. History Hebron Academy is one of the nation's oldest endowed preparato ...

in Maine. From 1835 to 1845 he engaged in mercantile pursuits in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

and

read law Reading law was the method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship under th ...

Oregon

In 1845, he sailed to what became

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populou ...

, as the

supercargo A supercargo (from Spanish ''sobrecargo'') is a person employed on board a vessel by the owner of cargo carried on the ship. The duties of a supercargo are defined by admiralty law and include managing the cargo owner's trade, selling the merchandi ...

(cargo supervisor) of the ''Toulon'',Corning, Howard M. (1989) ''Dictionary of Oregon History''. Binfords & Mort Publishing. p. 231. bringing goods for

Francis Pettygrove Francis William Pettygrove (1812 – October 5, 1887) was a pioneer and one of the founders of the cities of Portland, Oregon, and Port Townsend, Washington. Born in Maine, he re-located to the Oregon Country in 1843 to establish a store in O ...

's warehouse. In 1846, he purchased half of

Asa Lovejoy Asa Lawrence Lovejoy (March 14, 1808 – September 10, 1882) was an American pioneer and politician in the region that would become the U.S. state of Oregon. He is best remembered as a founder of the city of Portland, Oregon. He was an attorney ...

's making up the original claim to the future city for $390 in cash. 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. Despite often being absent on business, Stark was a civic leader in early Portland. For example, he led the city

Freemasons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

, membership in which was a status symbol at the time. In 1848, he sailed to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

to take part in the California Gold Rush and was a merchant there from 1849 to 1850. Around the time Stark left San Francisco in 1850 to set up shop in Portland, he discovered his claim was disputed. At a meeting in San Francisco with

Daniel H. Lownsdale Daniel Lownsdale (1803–1862) was one of the founders of Portland, Oregon, United States. Coming from Kentucky sometime before 1845, Lownsdale established the first tannery near the current location of Providence Park just west of downtown. Tann ...

, Stark reached a settlement with the other stakeholders which gave Stark sole title to a triangular section in what is now downtown Portland between the

Willamette River The Willamette River ( ) is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Flowing northward ...

, Stark Street, and Ankeny Street.Gaston, Joseph. 1912
''The Centennial History of Oregon, 1811-1912''.
S.J. Clarke Pub. Co. p. 364. In return for giving up the rest of the claim, Lownsdale, Coffin, and Chapman paid Stark for land they had already sold on his acreage, which was roughly and included most of what was then downtown. Later, another dispute between the parties arose after Stark refused to part with two narrow blocks needed to connect the park blocks.

Political career

He was admitted to the bar that same year and in 1852 became a member of the

Oregon Territory The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. ...

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

. In the legislature he was a Whig representing Washington County, which at that time included Portland. Stark was a colonel and served in the 1853 hostilities between settlers and Native Americans during the

Rogue River Wars The Rogue River Wars were an armed conflict in 1855–1856 between the U.S. Army, local militias and volunteers, and the Native American tribes commonly grouped under the designation of Rogue River Indians, in the Rogue River Valley are ...

. He married Elizabeth Molthrop. In 1860, Stark was again elected to the

, now representing

Multnomah County Multnomah County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 815,428. Multnomah County is part of the Portland–Vancouver– Hillsboro, OR–WA Metropolitan Statistical Area. Tho ...

after its creation in 1854, and now as a Democrat.1860 Regular Session (1st).
Oregon State Archives. Retrieved on November 28, 2008. Oregon's junior Senator,

Edward Dickinson Baker Edward Dickinson Baker (February 24, 1811October 21, 1861) was an American politician, lawyer, and US army officer. In his political career, Baker served in the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois and later as a U.S. Senator from Orego ...

, was killed in action during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

in October 1861.

Oregon Governor The governor of Oregon is the head of government of Oregon and serves as the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The title of governor was also applied to the office of Oregon's chief executive during the provisional and U.S. ...

John Whiteaker John Whiteaker (May 4, 1820October 2, 1902) was an American politician, soldier, and judge. A native of Indiana, he joined the army during the Mexican–American War and then prospected during the California Gold Rush. After moving to the Orego ...

appointed Stark to replace Baker in the

and served from October 29, 1861 to September 12, 1862. He was an advocate for slavery and originally opposed the creation of publicly financed primary schools. He 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.

Later years and legacy

In 1864, he was a delegate to the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

held in Chicago.Colmer, Montagu, and Charles Erskine Scott Wood. 1910. ''History of the Bench and Bar of Oregon''. Portland, Or: Historical Pub. Co. p. 275. He accumulated a fortune selling plots of his land in what became

Downtown Portland Downtown Portland is the city center of Portla