Clark, Frederick W., 1857-1916.

Chicago builder and construction company president.

Frederick William Clark was born in Chicago, Illinois, on August 12, 1857. He was educated in Chicago Public Schools and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), from which he received an engineering degree. He practiced as a mining engineer for ten years and then, for six years, was an assistant professor of mining engineering and metallurgy at MIT. In 1889 he returned to Chicago and was associated with his father, Jonathan, in the Jonathan Clark Construction Company until the latter's death in 1902. Jonathan's will named his personal secretary, Caroline Patterson (a young woman he met while staying at her mother's boarding house in Geneva, Illinois, where the construction company was building some mansions on the lake) as one of the trustees of his estate. The Clark family rallied against Ms. Patterson and expended huge sums investigating her past, but did not succeed. Her trusteeship was sanctioned by the court. In the years following the father's death, the construction company continued its work under the name, Clark Construction Company. The company was well regarded for its work in the construction and contracting of work on buildings in cities such as Albany, Boston, Buffalo, Charleston, Columbus, Gary, Pittsburgh, and Chicago. Among the buildings that had the Clark imprint are the United States Navy Yard in Charleston, the Art Institute of Chicago, the old Chicago and Northwestern Railroad Station, and the Schlesinger & Mayer Department Store (later known as the Carson Pirie Scott Building). Between 1907 and 1909 the company began to liquidate its assets and complete contractual obligations prior to ceasing business. Subsequently, Mr. Clark, with family and friends, enjoyed a life of travel, social events, golf, and bridge. He was a member of several clubs such as the Union League Club and the Kenwood Country Club. Clark died in Chicago on February 2, 1916.