Barzilla W. Clark

Barzilla W. Clark
From the Idaho Falls Post-Register, September 22, 1943.
16th Governor of Idaho
In office January 4, 1937 – January 2, 1939
Lieutenant	Charles C. Gossett
Preceded by	C. Ben Ross
Succeeded by	C. A. Bottolfsen
Personal details
Born	Barzilla Worth Clark (1880-12-22)December 22, 1880 Hendricks County, Indiana
Died	September 21, 1943(1943-09-21) (aged 62) Idaho Falls, Idaho
Resting place	Rose Hill Cemetery Idaho Falls, Idaho
Nationality	United States
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Ethel Salome Peck Clark (1884–1971) (m. 1905–1943, his death)
Children	1 son, 3 daughters
Residence	Idaho Falls
Profession	Civil engineer
Religion	Methodist

Barzilla Worth Clark (December 22, 1880 – September 21, 1943) was a politician from Idaho. He served as the 16th Governor of Idaho from 1937 to 1939, and was a member of the Idaho Democratic Party.^[1]

Biography

Born in Hadley, Indiana, in 1881, Clark made the journey to eastern Idaho by narrow-gauge railroad in 1885 with his family to Eagle Rock (now Idaho Falls). He attended Rose Polytechnic Institute in Terre Haute, Indiana, but cut short his education due to a lung injury during track and field practice.^[2] He returned to Idaho and engaged in farming, mining, and cattle raising. On October 26, 1905, he married Ethel Salome Peck^[3] and they had four children.

Career

Clark became a licensed engineer in 1905 and worked as a civil engineer. His reservoir on the Blackfoot River was purchased by the government and his plan for impounding Lost River was merged into Mackay Dam ^[4] After two terms as councilman he served as mayor of Idaho Falls from 1913 to 1915 and again from 1926 to 1936. During this term, the city built the Municipal Hydroelectric Plant No. 1.^[5]

Clark's interest turned to Idaho mines until he was again elected mayor of Idaho Falls in 1927 and served in that office until his inauguration as governor on January 4, 1937.^[6][7][8] During his two-year term, a state tuberculosis hospital was authorized, a judicious pardon and parole system was installed, and junior college districts were installed.

Clark lost the Democratic primary for a second term to his predecessor, C. Ben Ross,^[9] who ran for U.S. Senator in 1936 against longtime incumbent William Borah, but lost. Ross lost the general election in 1938 to C. A. Bottolfsen; Clark left office on January 2, 1939, and returned to Idaho Falls and his private interests. He chose not to run in 1940 to reclaim the office,^[10] which was won by his younger brother Chase Clark (1883–1966). Chase was the father-in-law of Frank Church (1924–84), a four-term U.S. Senator (1957–81) and presidential candidate in 1976. In turn, Bottolfsen defeated Chase in 1942.

Death

Clark died of complications of lung cancer at age 62 in Idaho Falls on September 21, 1943;^[11][12] he is interred at Rose Hill Cemetery in Idaho Falls.^[13]

References

External links

• University of Idaho Library – Barzilla Clark (1885–1943), papers 1937–1938
• National Governors Association
• Gem of the Mountains, UI annual: 1938
• South Fork Companion: Barzilla Clark
• Barzilla W. Clark at Find a Grave

Governors of Idaho
Territorial (1863–90)	Wallace Lyon Ballard Bowen Bennett Thompson Brayman Neil Irwin Bunn Stevenson Shoup
State (since 1890)	Shoup Willey McConnell Steunenberg Hunt Morrison Gooding Brady Hawley Haines Alexander Davis Moore Baldridge Ross B. Clark Bottolfsen C. Clark Bottolfsen Gossett Williams Robins Jordan Smylie Samuelson Andrus Evans Andrus Batt Kempthorne Risch Otter