HOMER PIERCE CLARK AND FAMILY:

Homer Pierce Clark, son of Charles Henry Clark (1836-1907) and Martha Cowper Pierce Clark (1837-1929), was born in Boston, Massachusetts, April 6, 1868. He was graduated from St. Paul (Minnesota) High School in 1887 and received a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1894, being admitted to the bar in that year. He began his career as a clerk with Finch, Van Slyck and McConville Wholesale Dry Goods Company of St. Paul in 1888. In 1890, he became associated with West Publishing Company, at which he was appointed treasurer in 1902, president in 1921, and chairman of the board in 1932. Under his leadership the company developed into the nation’s largest publisher of law books. He retired in 1950. Clark died October 7, 1970, and is buried in Roselawn Cemetery (Roseville, Minnesota).

Clark was very involved in the business life of St. Paul and Minnesota. He served on the board of directors of Waldorf Paper Products Company (also serving as president), the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, and the St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company. He was vice chair of the Liberty Loan Committee during World War I, was instrumental in the construction and operation of the James J. Hill Reference Library in St Paul and was active in the St. Paul Community Chest. His interests also included the civic, political, and cultural affairs of the city and state. He was honorary chair of the American Law Book Company and was a member of the American Bar Association, the Minnesota State Bar Association, the Minnesota Historical Society, and the Mayflower Society.

On January 12, 1910, Clark married Elizabeth Turner Dunsmoor (1886-1977). They made their home on Summit Avenue in St. Paul and were the parents of five children: Robert Stuart Clark (1917-1943), Thomas Kimball Clark (1921-1959), Elizabeth Turner Clark (b. 1924), Dr. Catherine Pierce Clark Kroeger (1925-2011), and Helen Dunsmoor Clark (b. 1928). His sister, Mary Barnard Clark (1871-1963) married Charles Henry Putnam (1868-1908).

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The collection contains information about organizations with which Clark was involved, including West Publishing Company (president, 1921-1932) and chairman (1932-1950); Waldorf Paper Products Company (director); the James Jerome Hill Reference Library (trustee); the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis (director); the St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company (director); and the Minnesota Historical Society (executive council). There are letters written by William Henry Harrison, John Quincy Adams, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and J.H. Payne; minutes of the Minnesota State Veterans Service Building Commission (Clark served on the commission from 1947 to 1966); and financial statements and reports of three Hoerner Waldorf-related companies. Correspondents include business associates, family members, banks and insurance companies, and a variety of other individuals.

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These documents are organized into the following sections:

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Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Homer Pierce Clark and Family Papers. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession number: 12,674; 13,195

Processing Information:

Processed by: Bonnie Palmquist, 1980. Additions by: Bonnie Palmquist, 1983.

Portrait of Clark used as an illustrative image in this finding aid is taken from the Minnesota Historical Society Sound and Visual collections.

Catalog ID number: 990017368720104294

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Arranged in rough chronological order. Many letters remain in envelopes.

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Business correspondence, receipts, financial statements, and similar material. Not broken out by subject or author.

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