Frederick L. Clark (1833-1906), Architect and Builder
Frederick L. Clark was a pioneer builder and architect in northeast Nebraska, arriving in 1866 in Dakota County, Nebraska Territory, following his older brother James who had settled in Nebraska by the early 1860s.[16][17][a] Frederick and his wife Mary Ann were both New England natives (Vermont and New Hampshire, respectively). According to their obituaries, Frederick was born in St. Johnsberg [sic, presumably St. Johnsbury], Vermont in 1833; Mary Ann was born in Woodstock, New Hampshire in 1840; and they married in Boston in 1863.[1][2][3][b] They had three daughters and a son, all born in Nebraska following their arrival in 1866. Son George died before 1882; his sisters all survived their father.[4][5][b]
Andreas reported that Clark had a seven-year apprenticeship in building and architecture in Boston, followed by a period there of independent practice.[3][c] Andreas dated the Clarks' relocation to Nebraska Territory as occurring in 1856, whereas their obituaries point instead to 1866. Whatever his prior experience, Fred L. Clark, "Builder," and his family were recorded in Covington, Dakota County, Nebraska in the U.S. Census of 1870.[6] In 1870, Clark built the Cheyenne Agency for the U.S. Government, and a year later designed all of the buildings at the Winnebago Agency in Nebraska.[3] Clark advertised his services as "Architect and Builder" in Dakota County newspapers in 1876-1879, noting his location as Covington (which was annexed into South Sioux City, Nebraska in the 1890s).[11] The family relocated to Omaha by 1880, where Frederick worked for Union Pacific Railroad for a decade, first as a carpenter and then as a draughtsman.[10] His occupation/profession listed in the 1880 U.S. Census, 1885 Nebraska State census, and 1888 Omaha city directory was "architect" (presumably self-reported).[5][6][10] By 1891 the Clark family resettled in Sioux City, Iowa where Frederick was listed in city directories most often as a "millwright" and occasionally as a carpenter. In 1898 the Sioux City directory noted Clark had moved to South Sioux City, Nebraska, where he died in 1906.[1]
This page is a contribution to the publication, Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. See the format and contents page for more information on the compilation and page organization.
Contents
Compiled Nebraska Directory Listings
Omaha, 1880-1891
Educational & Professional Associations
c. 1856-c. 1863: served a seven-year apprenticeship as architect-builder, Boston, Massachusetts.[3]
c. 1863-c. 1866: architect-builder, Boston, Massachusetts.[3]
1866-1879: architect-builder, Dakota City and Covington, Nebraska Territory/State of Nebraska, also active in Sioux City, Iowa.[3][11]
1876-1880: with the car department, Union Pacific Railroad Company, Omaha, Nebraska. [3]
1880-1890: draftsman, Union Pacific Railroad Company, Omaha, Nebraska.[3][4][f][g]
Buildings & Projects
Dated
Project for a hotel bldg (after 1866), Dakota City, Nebraska Territory.[12]
G. E. R. Kirk house (after 1866), Sioux City, Iowa.[3][d]
Cheyenne Agency (1870), [on the Cheyenne River, west bank of the Missouri River, Dakota Territory].[3][e]
Project for a Dakota County Courthouse (c. 1870), Dakota City, Nebraska.[3][g]
Winnebago Agency Buildings (1871), near Winnebago, Thurston County, Nebraska.[3][f]
Undated
George Wescott Store (n.d.), Dakota City, Nebraska.[12]
Notes
a. According to the 1870 U.S. Census, James Clark was born c. 1825 in Vermont and had a grist mill in Dakota County, Nebraska. His wife Sarah was born in Wisconsin, c. 1844. They had four children, all born in Nebraska, the oldest c. 1862 and the youngest c. 1869.[16][17] James had served with the 2nd Nebraska Cavalry Regiment in 1862-1863 until he was discharged with a disability.[#References|[18]]]
b. Five census sources on F. L. Clark provide dates of birth ranging from 1823 to 1836, but all agree on Vermont as his birthplace. Andreas in 1882 provided a lengthy entry on Clark and his early professional development, but differed from all other sources in naming Boston, Massachusetts as his birthplace and 1829 as his year of birth, sounding a note a caution on the reliability of his details.[1][2][3] The children and their approximate years of birth were Cora (1867), George F. (1868), Nellie (1873), and Laverne (1875). George was listed in the 1870 and 1880 census, but not after the latter.
c. The Clarks' obituaries and Andreas all report their marriage as occurring in Boston, in 1863 (obituaries) or 1864 (Andreas). Only Andreas reports on Clark's apprenticeship and practice in Boston, where "Frederick L. Clark" is not found in the city directories of the 1840s or early 1850s. However, a joiner named Frederick L. Clark was listed in Portland, Maine from 1847 to 1856, then a carpenter named Frederick Clark appeared in Charlestown (Boston) directories from 1858 to 1868.[10]
d. Hailed in Andreas as the first brick building constructed there.[3]
e. In the role of builder; this is probably the Cheyenne River Agency.[3]
f. In the role of architect.[3]
g. Plans, alternative elevations, full-size details; ink and wash on paper; F. L. Clark, architect, Covington, Nebraska. MS256.[12]
References
1. "Old Settler Passes Away," obituary of Frederick L. Clark, Dakota County Record (South Sioux City, Nebraska) (June 30, 1906),
2. "Mrs. Mary Clark," obituary, The Eagle (South Sioux City, Nebraska) (February 16, 1933), 6.
3. A. T. Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (Chicago: Western Historical Company, 1882), 1:761.
4. Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census, s.v. "Mary A. Clark" (Covington, Dakota County, Nebraska), [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.
5. Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1880 United States Federal Census, s.v. "M. J. Clark" (with "F. L. Clark"), [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010.
6. Ancestry.com. Nebraska, State Census Collection, 1860-1885, s.v. "Mary A. Clark" in Omaha, Nebraska, [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009.
7. Ancestry.com. Nebraska, U.S., Select County Marriage Records, 1855-1908, s.v. "Mary Ann Clark" (maiden name Downing), re. 1885 marriage of daughter Lilly, [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2017.
8. Ancestry.com. Iowa, U.S., State Census, 1895, s.v. "Fred L. Clark" in [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2003.
9. Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census, s.v. "Laverne Clark" (daughter of Fred'k L. Clark, b. 1875 in Nebraska), [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.
10. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
11. "F. L. Clark, Architect and Builder" (advertisements), North Nebraska Eagle (Dakota City, Nebraska) (June 28, 1876), 3; Dakota Mail (South Sioux City, Nebraska) (December 28, 1877), 1; North Nebraska Eagle (April 18, 1879), 3.
12. Augustus T. Haase Collection, Nebraska State Historical Society Archives, MS256, July 16, 1975.
13. NeHBS file D009:23-3 and copies of original blue prints in fax file
14. "Dakota County, Neb.," (report on building of new court house in Dakota City), Sioux City (Iowa) Journal (August 18, 1870), 4; and "Work on the Dakota county court house is progressing," Sioux City (Iowa) Journal (October 21, 1870), 4.
15. "The County Commissioners of Dakota County accepted the new court-house," Sioux City (Iowa) Journal (October 28, 1871), 4.
16. Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census, s.v. "James Clark," [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009.
17. "Personal...Hon. James Clark, of Tekamah, is visiting his brother, Fred L. Clark...," Omaha (Nebraska) Daily Bee (September 12, 1885), 5.
18. Historical Data Systems, comp. U.S., Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865, s.v. "James Clark," [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2009.
Page Citation
D. Murphy & E. F. Zimmer, “Frederick L. Clark (1833-1906), Architect and Builder,” in David Murphy, Edward F. Zimmer, and Lynn Meyer, comps. Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. Lincoln: Nebraska State Historical Society, December 8, 2023. http://www.e-nebraskahistory.org/index.php?title=Place_Makers_of_Nebraska:_The_Architects Accessed, April 28, 2024.
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