Alexander Clark House Explained

Alexander Clark House
Nrhp Type:indcp
Nocat:yes
Partof Refnum:06000423
Coordinates:41.4214°N -91.0481°W
Area:less than one acre
Built:1879
Added:October 14, 1976
Refnum:76000796

The Alexander Clark House is a historic house located in Muscatine, Iowa, United States. The house is associated with Alexander Clark (1826–1891), an African American civil rights pioneer and US Minister to Liberia. Clark was a 19th-century abolitionist who made his home in Muscatine for most of his adult life. He fought and won for the integration of public schools in Iowa when his daughter was forbidden to attend her neighborhood school. The case went to the Iowa Supreme Court, which resulted in the integration of all schools in the state.[1] He was an associate of Frederick Douglass, helped to establish Iowa's only Colored regiment during the American Civil War, and the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Muscatine.[2] [3] Clark was named the Minister to Liberia in 1890 by President Benjamin Harrison, where he died a year later. The house was built in 1879 after a fire destroyed Clark's previous house. It was moved 200feet from its original location in 1975,[1] The house was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. It was included as a contributing property in the West Hill Historic District in 2008.[4]

Notes and References

  1. News: Michael Ferguson. Man pursues historic designation for Clark house. Muscatine Journal. Muscatine. July 27, 2010. 2012-04-23.
  2. News: Erin Tiesman. Making history — again. Muscatine Journal. Muscatine. February 19, 2010. 2012-04-23.
  3. Web site: Proclamation: Alexander G. Clark Week. City of Muscatine. 2012-04-23.
  4. Web site: Rebecca Lawin McCarley. [{{NRHP url|id=08000356}} West Hill Historic District]. National Park Service. 2015-11-14.