Dr. James Henry Clark, Jr. (1853-1945) and his wife Carrie Schenck (1859-1901) built the two and a half story Queen Anne style house at 108 Orange Road in 1894 on land that was part of the original three-hundred acres Jasper Crane (1605-1681) had willed to his sons Azariah and Jasper, Jr. Dr. Clarkâs father was an Army surgeon during the Civil War. His first cousin, Abraham Clark, was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and a descendant of the signers of the Mayflower Compact.
The home has four bay windows and a large porch running across the full length of the entrance. There is a two-story turret with conical roof that defines the south corner of the house. There are decorative wood moldings above and below the second floor windows, which form a band around the house and turret. A bay window extends on the first floor to the south and two hipped dormers with diamond configurations in the casements break the roof line.
Members of the Clark family occupied the home until 1962, when Dr. and Mrs. M. C. Sampson purchased it. In 1985, MHS bought the house. Today it is used as the Society’s educational, research, and administrative complex, including exhibits and the Albert Payson Terhune Library, which in turn is dedicated to the preservation of local resources unique to Montclair. The Clark House is part of the First Residential Historic District, which contains the largest concentration of documented houses in the Township of Montclair. It was added to the State Register of Historic Places in 1996 (ID#1128).