member of the Oregon Territory's House of Representatives. In the legislature he was a Whig representing Washington County, which at that time included Portland. Stark was a colonel and served in the 1853 hostilities between settlers and Native Americans during the Rogue River Wars. He married Elizabeth Molthrop. Stark served on the Portland Public Schools board from 1852-1854. In 1860, Stark was again elected to the Oregon House of Representatives, now representing Multnomah County after its creation in 1854, and now as a Democrat. Oregon's junior Senator, Edward Dickinson Baker, was killed in action during the American Civil War in October 1861. Oregon Governor John Whiteaker appointed Stark to replace Baker in the United States Senate and served from October 29, 1861 to September 12, 1862. He was an advocate for slavery and originally opposed the creation of publicly financed primary schools. He did not run in the election for a permanent replacement and was succeeded by Benjamin F. Harding, who had been Speaker of the Oregon House during Stark's time there in 1860. Later years and legacy In 1864, he was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention held in Chicago. He accumulated a fortune selling plots of his land in what became Downtown Portland. After Congress, Stark resumed his practice of law, before returning east to New London. There he became a member of the board of aldermen of the city, serving from 1873 to 1874 when he was elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives. He also was a member of the Connecticut State Prison Commission. Benjamin Stark died in New London, Connecticut, on October 10, 1898, at the age of 78 and was interred in Cedar Grove Cemetery. The Clyde Hotel was renamed Ben Stark Hotel in 1987, but became the Ace Hotel in 2005. The east-west running Stark Street in Portland is named in his honor. In late 2017, activists proposed renaming Southwest Stark Street for gay rights activist Harvey Milk, noting that Stark was an unapologetic racist who advocated for slavery. References External links Members of the Oregon House of Representatives Members of the Connecticut House of Representatives 1820 births 1898 deaths Members of the Oregon Territorial Legislature 19th-century American politicians Businesspeople from Portland, Oregon History of Portland, Oregon Oregon Whigs Oregon Democrats Connecticut Democrats Democratic Party United States senators from Oregon Rogue River Wars American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by