Lucius Bowles Darling (October 3, 1827 – January 3, 1896) was a

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

businessman who ran a slaughterhouse and fertilizer company. He was

Lieutenant governor of Rhode Island The current lieutenant governor of Rhode Island is Sabina Matos, who was sworn in on April 14, 2021, after Daniel McKee succeeded to the office of governor. The first lieutenant governor was George Brown. In Rhode Island, the lieutenant gover ...

for two one-year terms, 1885-1887.

Personal life

Darling was born in

Bellingham, Massachusetts Bellingham () is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 16,945 at the 2020 census. The town sits on the southwestern fringe of Metropolitan Boston, along the rapidly growing "outer belt" that is Route 495. It ...

to Samuel and Margaret (Smith) Darling. He grew up on their farm and attended public schools. At age 22, he left the farm and moved to

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

, eventually settling in Pawtucket, which was then part of

North Providence North Providence is a New England town, town in Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 34,114 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census. Geography According to the United States C ...

. He was married to Angeline H. Armington November 4, 1847. They had six children.

Business life

Just outside the western border of Pawtucket, in Mineral Springs, Darling established a

slaughterhouse A slaughterhouse, also called abattoir (), is a facility where animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a packaging facility. Slaughterhouses that produce meat that is no ...

which utilized every part of the animal for meat, oil, tallow, and fertilizer. In 1881, he established a branch office in Chicago, which acquired cattle for his Rhode Island slaughterhouse. By 1884, fertilizer was his main business, under the name of the Darling Fertilizer Company. He also served as director or president of several companies including the Pacific National Bank of Pawtucket, the Pawtucket Gas Company, and the

Swan Point Cemetery Swan Point Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Established in 1846 on a 60-acre (0.24 km2) plot of land, it has approximately 40,000 interments. History The cemetery was first organi ...

Company. Darling commissioned and was the sole owner of the Music Hall Building on Pawtucket's Main Street. The Music Hall building had a 1700-seat theater on the second floor, with three seating sections: an orchestra, balcony, and second balcony. It was considered one of the most beautiful buildings in Pawtucket. The building originally hosted opera and

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

performances; later it showed motion pictures. The Music Hall Building was demolished in 1970 as part of a downtown

urban renewal Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blighte ...

project.

Political life

Darling was appointed harbor commissioner by Governor Littlefield in 1881, and re-appointed by Governor Bourn in 1883. He served two one-year terms as Lieutenant governor.

Death

Darling died in Pawtucket in 1896, and is buried at

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Darling, Lucius 1827 births 1896 deaths Rhode Island Republicans Burials at Swan Point Cemetery Politicians from Pawtucket, Rhode Island Lieutenant Governors of Rhode Island 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American businesspeople