The new title, Clarke-Ford Home, corrects the record to show a Black religious leader’s critical involvement in saving and preserving the city’s oldest home.
A measure was introduced to City Council to rename the Henry B. Clarke House as the Henry B. and Caroline Clarke/Bishop Louis Henry and Margaret Ford House. The change will better reflect all of the home’s most influential owners, city officials said.
Built in 1836, the Clarke House was derelict when Bishop Louis Henry Ford bought it in 1941 and began rehabbing it with his congregation. Now his grandson wants the building name to honor Ford.