Merritt Clark

{{Short description|American politician (1803–1898)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}

File:Merritt-Clark.jpg

Merritt Clark (February 11, 1803 – May 5, 1898) was an American businessperson and politician from Vermont.

Clark was born in Middletown, Vermont. He graduated from Middlebury College in 1823. Clark served as postmaster in Middletown and Poultney, Vermont and was involved in the mercantile business.[http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~vermont/RutlandCountyHistorypage27.html The History of Rutland Co. - Chapter XVII. Part Two. The County Bar]'Proceedings of the Grand Council of Select and Royal Masters of the State of Vermont at the Fortieth-Fifth Assembly, in Burlington, Vermont. June 14, 1898, Vol. 4, No. 3, Journal Company Book and Job Printing, Windsor, Vermont, Biographical Sketch of Merrill Clark, pg 11-12 A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to the Vermont House of Representatives in 1832–33, 1839, and 1865–66, and to the Vermont Senate in 1863-64 and 1868–69, as well as the 1870 Vermont Constitutional Convention. He was the first president of the Rutland and Washington Railroad.[http://cdi.uvm.edu/findingaids/collection/cffam.ead.xml Clark/Field Families Collection, Special Collections, University of Vermont Library]

In 1870, he was a member of the Vermont Board of Education, which published a report critical of the state's normal schools (teacher training institutions).{{Cite web |url=http://www.vermont-archives.org/govhistory/gov/govinaug/inaugurals/pdf/Mead1910.pdf |title=Inaugural address of John A. Mead, As it appears in the Journal of the Joint Assembly, Biennial Session 1910 |access-date=2008-10-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120215220756/http://www.vermont-archives.org/govhistory/gov/govinaug/inaugurals/pdf/Mead1910.pdf |archive-date=2012-02-15 |url-status=usurped }}