19th century Clark came to Philadelphia from
Providence, Rhode Island, in 1836. The next year, he created his firm with his two brothers, Luther Clapp Clark (July 4, 1815 - 1877) and Joseph Washington Clark (1810-1892); and brother-in-law, Edward Dodge. At the outbreak of the
Mexican–American War (1846–1848), the U.S. government borrowed about $50,000,000 from the firm, then recognized as "the leading domestic exchange house" in the country. In 1849, Enoch's oldest son,
Edward White Clark, became a member of the firm, and
Jay Cooke, who had been with the house since 1842, was made a partner. Cooke retired from the firm in 1854, and went on to even greater fame and fortune by helping to sell the bonds that financed the
U.S. Civil War. The elder Clark died in 1856 of complications of nicotine poisoning. In 1887, David Crawford Clark (January 23, 1864, at New York, New York-???), a son of company co-founder Luther Clapp Clark and his wife Julia Crawford, became a partner in Clark, Dodge & Co. In 1881,
Frederick J. Kimball joined the firm as a partner and soon became president of the newly acquired and renamed
Norfolk and Western Railroad. In 1882, Edward's son
Edward Walter Clark, Jr. became a partner; Clarence's son
C. Howard Clark, Jr. followed two years later. The firm began investing in public utilities around this time, and went on to control many public utility and railroad properties. It exercised conservative management, and through 1914 had never defaulted on principal or interest payments on the bonded debt of its public utility corporations.
20th century In 1900, the firm brought on Edward W. Clark's younger sons, Herbert L. Clark and
Clarence M. Clark. In 1909, William B. Kurtz was admitted to the firm, and in 1911, George W. Kendrick III, became a partner. Kendrick spurred the firm's bond business. The firm opened branch offices in Boston, Reading, Wilkes-Barre, Pittsburgh and Chicago. As of 1914, the firm's partners were E.W. Clark Jr., Clarence M. Clark, C. Howard Clark Jr., Herbert L. Clark, William B. Kurtz and George W. Kendrick III. In 1914,
Moody's magazine described the "commanding position" of the then 76-year-old firm: In the first rank with
Robert Morris and
Stephen Girard, the name of Enoch W. Clark, founder of the widely known banking house of E.W. Clark & Co. will always be honored as one of those who have made the financial history of this country...The firm is considered by financiers and investors as one of the most important in the field of public utilities anywhere in the world. In the year ending October 31, 1913, the public utility corporations under the company's direct supervision had these vital statistics: • Gross earnings: $32,772,183 • Net earning: 14,255,207 • Surplus: 5,321,478 As of 1914, the firm operated and managed various
public utility corporations wholly or in part, including: •
Bangor Railway & Electric Company •
Columbus Railway & Light Company •
Commonwealth Power Railway & Light Company, which controlled
Consumers Power Co. (Michigan),
Michigan Light Company,
Grand Rapids Railway Company,
Cadillac Water & Light Company, and
Saginaw-Bay City Railway Company. •
Union Railway, Gas & Electric Company, which controlled
Springfield Railway & Light Company (Illinois),
Peoria Light Company,
Public Utilities Company,
Rockford and Interurban Railway, and
DeKalb – Sycamore and Interurban Traction Company •
Portland Railway, Light & Power Company (Oregon) •
Cumberland County Power & Light Company, which controlled
Lewiston, Augusta & Waterville Street Railway, and leased
Portland Railroad Company (Maine). •
East St. Louis & Suburban Company •
Tennessee Railway, Light & Power Company, which controlled
Tennessee Power Company,
Nashville Railway & Light Company, and
Chattanooga Railway & Light Company ==References==