Cyrus Sullivan Clark (December 8, 1809–July 28, 1880), together with

George Benson Hall Jr. George Benson Hall Jr. (1810 – September 4, 1876) was a businessman involved in the Quebec lumber business. On his death, the Quebec ''Morning Chronicle'' described him as "one of Quebec’s most prominent and enterprising citizens". He ...

and the

British American Land Company The British American Land Company (BALC) was a company formed in 1832 for the purpose of purchasing land and encouraging British immigration to Lower Canada. It was founded and promoted by John Galt, Edward Ellice and others to acquire and manag ...

, were the largest participants in the lumber industry in the

Eastern Townships The Eastern Townships (french: Cantons de l'Est) is an historical administrative region in southeastern Quebec, Canada. It lies between the St. Lawrence Lowlands and the American border, and extends from Granby in the southwest, to Drummondv ...

of Quebec in the 19th century.

Biography

Personal life

Born in Minot, Maine, he attended

Waterville College Colby College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Waterville, Maine. It was founded in 1813 as the Maine Literary and Theological Institution, then renamed Waterville College after the ...

and graduated in 1828, becoming a

grocer A grocery store (American English, AE), grocery shop (British English, BE) or simply grocery is a store that primarily retails a general range of food Product (business), products, which may be Fresh food, fresh or Food preservation, packaged ...

in Portland, Maine. He later went into the lumber industry, involved in both manufacturing and dealing, and lived in

Bangor, Maine Bangor ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat of Penobscot County. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's 3rd-largest settlement, behind Portland (68,408) and Lewiston (37,121). Modern Bangor ...

for several years. He moved to Portland in 1854, and lived there until his death.

Business career

When the St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad was opened between Montreal and Portland in 1853, entrepreneurs from Montreal, Quebec City, New York City and Maine began to compete for berths around

Lake Aylmer Lake Aylmer (french: Lac Aylmer) is a lake located on the border of the Chaudière-Appalaches and Estrie regions of Quebec, Canada. It is shared by the Regional County Municipalities The term regional county municipality or RCM (''french ...

in order to replace Maine's declining lumber supplies. By 1856, Clark had become the largest licence holder in the region, controlling of the total of of timber limits available. He also owned 145,500 arpents (about) of land adjoining

Lake Temiscouata A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

and the Madawaska River, 19 licences on the

Saint-Maurice River The Saint-Maurice River (french: Rivière Saint-Maurice; Atikamekw: ''Tapiskwan sipi'') flows north to south in central Quebec from Gouin Reservoir to empty into the Saint Lawrence River at Trois-Rivières, in the province of Quebec, in Canada. F ...

, and a town lot in Sherbrooke. Because of extra duties that were imposed on the export of unfinished logs in 1851, Clark built a sawmill at Brompton Falls in 1854 that, at , was the largest in North America. Because of cash flow problems in 1855, Clark, together with his partners W.H. McCrillis and Thomas Howe, transferred all their Canadian properties and licences to City Bank and the

Bank of Montreal The Bank of Montreal (BMO; french: Banque de Montréal, link=no) is a Canadian multinational investment bank and financial services company. The bank was founded in Montreal, Quebec, in 1817 as Montreal Bank; while its head office remains in ...

in trust. When the

Panic of 1857 The Panic of 1857 was a financial panic in the United States caused by the declining international economy and over-expansion of the domestic economy. Because of the invention of the telegraph by Samuel F. Morse in 1844, the Panic of 1857 was ...

resulted in an oversupply in the US timber market, the banks auctioned off their debt, which John Henry Pope bought for $30,000. Clark would later buy back the properties and licences from Pope in 1869, and Pope remained as the chief spokesman for the company afterwards. In 1872, the

sold to Clark, who purchased a further from the company in the following year. These holdings were approximately half the size of the Crown timber limits that he already possessed. During the Long Depression of the 1870s, Clark would lose these lands as a consequence of a

default Default may refer to: Law * Default (law), the failure to do something required by law ** Default (finance), failure to satisfy the terms of a loan obligation or failure to pay back a loan ** Default judgment, a binding judgment in favor of ei ...

on the mortgage on his properties, but would be able to repurchase from the Eastern Townships Bank by 1879–80. He would formally enter into partnership with Pope to form the Brompton Mills Lumber Company.

Notes and references

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Cyrus Sullivan 1809 births 1880 deaths People from Minot, Maine Businesspeople from Portland, Maine Canadian businesspeople in timber People from Bangor, Maine 19th-century American businesspeople