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Contribution #289 of 365
Robert Clark
Livery Stable Owner and Petersburg Transportation Entrepreneur
1849–1870s
The contribution
How this work helped shape America
Born enslaved in Virginia around 1825, Robert Clark gained his freedom in Petersburg in 1849 and established a successful livery stable on Lombard Street. His enterprise supplied horses, buggies and carriages for hire, providing transportation services within the city's growing commercial economy. By 1860, Clark owned real and personal property valued at approximately $9,000, demonstrating how he transformed freedom into business ownership, transportation enterprise and substantial property accumulation before continuing his livery operation after the Civil War.