Then & Now: Jonas Clark House, 15 Main St., Hubbardston
Jonas G. Clark grew up in Hubbardston in the early 1800s, in a farmhouse off Barre Road, later moving to Worcester, where he built a stone mansion on Elm Street.
In between, after becoming a wealthy businessman, he bought a piece of land in his hometown and commissioned a house for his brother Leonard, according to Jane McCauley, former curator at the Hubbardston Historical Society. The two-story Greek Revival house, with a wraparound porch, was completed in 1847.
The house - pictured in this week's Then photo — has long carried the name of the generous brother, despite Jonas never having lived there. The building still stands, changing hands a number of times over the years. It has been listed as a rental.
Jonas Clark's ties to Hubbardston are part of the backstory to his biggest legacy: Clark University.
In 1887, Clark University was incorporated as a vision of Jonas Clark and G. Stanley Hall, a psychology professor at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, according to the school. The two men shared a drive for a new school but they differed on how it should be shaped.
Hall favored a research and graduate-only school; Clark wanted a teaching college. It wasn't until 1902, two years after Jonas Clark died, that Clark College, a liberal school, opened. In 1920, the college and university combined, headed by Wallace W. Atwood.
Jonas Clark made his fortune in California, where he landed in 1853 after finding some success in the tinware trade in Massachusetts, according to the historical society. In the West, he specialized in supplies for miners. He also was in the furniture business and acquired much land, notably in Boston and Worcester, south of downtown.
He was 45 — and retired — when he returned to Massachusetts. He was also a devoted reader, and he soon had a vast collection of books. He bought and sold books. In fact, in he donated money for a public library in Hubbardston.
The library, like the house at 15 Main St. in Hubbardston, remains.
The Hubbardston Historical Society has documented the house's many owners.
Clarence Fogerty owned the house in the years after Leonard Clark. He opened a tearoom, and in an effort to attract customers, he hung a sign that read "Jonas Clark House."
The property was the site of a barber shop and pool hall when it was owned by Fred McWilliams (1908-1918). Ambrose and Florence Marean owned the house for many years (1939-1974).
Meantime, Jonas Clark's stone mansion in Worcester is long gone, having been razed years ago.
Thank you to Jane McCauley and the Hubbardston Historical Society for their assistance with this story.
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This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Then & Now: Jonas Clark House, 15 Main St., Hubbardston