Born in Mississippi in 1869, Benton Clyde Clark worked on the family farm until the age of 18, when he moved to Abilene, Texas, to work at his brother's jewelry store. B.C. spent the next few years learning the jewelry and watch repair trade, before boarding a train bound for Indian Territory in 1892 with the promise of new land.
Landing in Purcell, Oklahoma, without a penny to his name, B.C. set up his watchmaker's bench in the corner of the local "five and dime" store. From this humble beginning, B.C. grew the business to a stand-alone jewelry store where watch repair and inspection was the key to his early success.
He met and married Flora Edwards in 1894, and their family grew to include six children. As Purcell's growth slowed during the 1920s, B.C. set his sights on Oklahoma City, which was growing by leaps and bounds. In 1929, he purchased a jewelry store in downtown Oklahoma City. B.C. remained actively involved in the business until his death in 1963 at the age of 94. The company continued to grow under the leadership of B.C. Clark Jr., who died in 2015 at the age of 101.
Today, the third and fourth generation of Clarks carry on the family business, and the company now has three locations in Oklahoma City. Jim Clark served as Oklahoma City Community Foundation Trustee from 2005-14. In celebration of B.C. Clark Jewelers' 100th anniversary in 1992, the family established a permanent endowment at the Oklahoma City Community Foundation to help them give back to the community. Each year, the family uses the fund to support a number of charitable organizations such as the BritVil Community Food Pantry, United Way of Central Oklahoma and Boy Scouts of America-Last Frontier Council.
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