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'''Lewis Strong Clarke, Sr.''' (November 7, 1837 – July 5, 1906), was the owner of a [[sugar]] plantation in St. Mary Parish and a leader of the [[Republican Party]] in the U.S. state of [[Louisiana]] in the latter part of the 19th century.

'''Lewis Strong Clarke, Sr.''' (November 7, 1837 – July 5, 1906), was the owner of a [[sugar]] plantation in St. Mary Parish and a leader of the [[Republican Party]] in the U.S. state of [[Louisiana]] in the latter part of the 19th century.

Clarke was born in Southampton in Hampshire Countiy in western [[Massachusetts]], a son of Oliver Clarke and the former Elizabeth Strong.  In infancy, he moved with his family to Springfield in Clark County in western [[Ohio]], where he was subsequently educated in public schools. After working for a time as a produce dealer in [[Cincinnati]], Ohio, Clarke and his friend, George Steele, purchased a sugar plantation on Bayou Teche near Patterson in St. Mary Parish, an area now part of Bayou Vista. Clarke and Steele named the plantation "Lagonda" after Lagonda Creek in Springfield, Ohio.<ref name=lahist>{{cite web|url=http://www.lahistory.org/site20.php|title=Clarke, Lewis Strong |work=''A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography'' |publisher=Louisiana Historical Association (lahistory.com)|accessdate=December 21, 2010}}</ref>​

Clarke was born in Southampton in Hampshire Countiy in western [[Massachusetts]], a son of Oliver Clarke and the former Elizabeth Strong.  In infancy, he moved with his family to Springfield in Clark County in western [[Ohio]], where he was subsequently educated in public schools. After working for a time as a produce dealer in [[Cincinnati]], Ohio, Clarke and his friend, George Steele, purchased a sugar plantation on Bayou Teche near Patterson in St. Mary Parish, an area now part of Bayou Vista. Clarke and Steele named the plantation "Lagonda" after Lagonda Creek in Springfield, Ohio.<ref name=lahist>{{cite web|url=http://www.lahistory.org/site20.php|title=Clarke, Lewis Strong |publisher=''A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography'' by the Louisiana Historical Association|accessdate=December 21, 2010}}</ref>​

In 1878, George Steele and Oliver Clarke, Lewis Clarke's younger brother, died in a [[yellow fever]] [[epidemic]]. With his partner gone, Lewis Clarke became sole owner and operator of Lagonda. In the late 1880s, as part of his sugar-refining operation, Clarke established one of the first effusion plants in Louisiana.<ref name=lahist/>​

In 1878, George Steele and Oliver Clarke, Lewis Clarke's younger brother, died in a [[yellow fever]] [[epidemic]]. With his partner gone, Lewis Clarke became sole owner and operator of Lagonda. In the late 1880s, as part of his sugar-refining operation, Clarke established one of the first effusion plants in Louisiana.<ref name=lahist/>​