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Honey Shuck is the lovely
old restored two-story front-gable-and-wing frame home of James Beauchamp
“Champ” Clark. The home displays furnishings and memorabilia and is
called “Honey Shuck” for the yard’s honey locusts, whose shucks fall
to the ground. The home was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976
and is the site of Bowling Green's annual Champ Clark Heritage Festival.
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 James
Beauchamp Clark best known as Champ Clark (March 7, 1850 – March 2, 1921)
was a prominent American politician in the Democratic Party from the 1890s
until his death. Clark (painting left by Boris B. Gordon) was born in Lawrenceburg,
Kentucky to John Hampton Clark and Aletha Beauchamp. He graduated from
Bethany College, West Virginia and Cincinnati Law School and moved to
Missouri in 1875, opening a law practice the following year. Clark
eventually settled in Bowling Green from where he was elected to the United
States House of Representatives in 1892. After a surprise loss in 1894 to
William M. Treloar, he regained the seat in 1896, becoming the Minority
Leader in 1909, and the Speaker of the House in 1911. |
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In 1912, Clark was the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination for
President, coming into the convention with a majority of delegates pledged
to him. But he failed to receive the necessary two-thirds of the vote on the
first several ballots. Clark eventually lost the nomination to New Jersey
Governor Woodrow Wilson on the 46th ballot.
Clark was noted for
maintaining party unity during William Taft's administration, splitting the
Democratic Party in 1917 and 1918 when he opposed Wilson's decision to bring
the United States into World War I. opposition to the Federal Reserve Act is
said to be the reason why Missouri is the home of two Federal Reserve Banks.
Clark was defeated in the Republican landslide of 1920, and died shortly
thereafter in Washington, DC. Clark's son Joel Bennett Clark served as a
United States Senator from Missouri from 1932 to 1945.
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Visiting
Honey Shuck
Visiting Hours
Open:
June 1 through Labor Day
Tuesday
- Sunday: 1:30 pm - 4 pm (Closed Monday)
There is no charge to visit Honey Shuck.
Directions:
Honey Shuck is located one block south and approximately 4 blocks east of
the Pike County Courthouse in the business district of Bowling Green.
 Learn more about the
Bowling Green
area.
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