Trenor Park
1823-1882
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Born in nearby Woodford Vermont, Trenor Park was a son-in-law of Governor Hiland Hall and father-in-law of future Governor John McCullough.
Though born poor, by the age of twenty he had become a lawyer in Bennington. While practicing law, he also became active in other business ventures. After making his initial fortune during the California gold rush, he returned to the East Coast in 1863, and pursued his interests in railroads and mines. Upon his return to Vermont, Park incorporated a bank in North Bennington, and speculated in several successful business ventures, including timber and mines.
He served in the Vermont House of Representatives for four years and was a Vermont delegate that nominated Ulysses Grant for President. As owner of the Panama Railroad, he profited nearly 7 million dollars, worth over 200 million today, when he sold his interest in the canal's future route.
Park was a member of the committee that oversaw the construction of the Bennington Monument, was a trustee of the University of Vermont, donated to create the Bennington Free Library and also for the land and building for the Vermont Soldiers' Home.
He built the Park-McCullough House, an elegant Victorian mansion, as a summer residence in North Bennington.
