Benjamin Stark

Benjamin Stark (June 26, 1820 – October 10, 1898) was an American merchant and politician in Oregon. A native of Louisiana, he purchased some of the original tracts of land for the city of Portland. He later served in the Oregon House of Representatives before appointment to the United States Senate in 1860 after the death of Edward D. Baker. A Democrat, Stark served in the Senate from 1861 to 1862. He later served in the Connecticut House of Representatives.

Early life Stark was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on June 26, 1820. His family moved to Connecticut where he graduated from Union School in New London after studying the classics. bringing goods for Francis Pettygrove's warehouse. he purchased half of Asa Lovejoy's making up the original claim to the future city for $390 (~$ in ) 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, membership in which was a status symbol at the time.

In 1848, he sailed to San Francisco to take part in the California Gold Rush and was a merchant there from 1849 to 1850. 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. Stark was a colonel and served in the 1853 hostilities between settlers and Native Americans during the Rogue River Wars.

In 1860, Stark was again elected to the Oregon House of Representatives, now representing Multnomah County after its creation in 1854, and now as a Democrat. Oregon's junior Senator, Edward Dickinson Baker, was killed in action during the American Civil War in October 1861. Oregon Governor John Whiteaker appointed Stark to replace Baker in the United States Senate and served from October 29, 1861, to September 12, 1862. He accumulated a fortune selling plots of his land in what became Downtown Portland. The east–west running Stark Street in Portland is named in his honor. The Portland City Council accepted the recommendation.