# Benjamin Franklin Millard
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{{short description|19th century American politician}}
{{infobox officeholder
| name = Benjamin F. Millard
| order = 21st
| title = Mayor of [Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin](/source/Chippewa_Falls%2C_Wisconsin)
| term_start = April 1892
| term_end = April 1893
| predecessor = Jacob Leinenkugel
| successor = W. H. Stafford
| state1 = Wisconsin
| state_assembly1 = Wisconsin
| district1 = [Chippewa](/source/Chippewa_County%2C_Wisconsin)
| term_start1 = January 7, 1889
| term_end1 = January 5, 1891
| predecessor1 = [Thomas J. Cunningham](/source/Thomas_Cunningham_(Wisconsin_politician))
| successor1 = [James Andrew Taylor](/source/James_Andrew_Taylor)
| party = [Republican](/source/Republican_Party_(United_States))
| birth_date = {{birth date|1850|5|5}}
| birth_place = [Baraboo, Wisconsin](/source/Baraboo%2C_Wisconsin), U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1926|1|27|1850|5|5}}
| death_place = [Seattle, Washington](/source/Seattle%2C_Washington), U.S.
| resting_place = [Cremated](/source/Cremation)
| spouse = {{unbulleted list
| {{marriage|Eva Buzzell|||end=divorced}}
| Ruth Butterfield
| ''two earlier wives''
}}
| children =
| father = Franklin Millard
| occupation = Lumberman, florist, {{nowrap|mine operator}}
}}
'''Benjamin Franklin Millard''' (May 5, 1850{{spaced ndash}}January 27, 1926) was an [American](/source/Americans) businessman, politician, and pioneer of [Alaska](/source/Alaska) and [Washington](/source/Washington_(state)). He was the 21st mayor of [Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin](/source/Chippewa_Falls%2C_Wisconsin), and represented [Chippewa County](/source/Chippewa_County%2C_Wisconsin) in the [Wisconsin State Assembly](/source/Wisconsin_State_Assembly) during the 1889 session.
==Biography==
Benjamin F. Millard was born on May 5, 1850, in [Baraboo, Wisconsin](/source/Baraboo%2C_Wisconsin). As a child, he moved with his father to Minnesota, then to [Menomonie, Wisconsin](/source/Menomonie%2C_Wisconsin), in 1858, before finally settling at [Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin](/source/Chippewa_Falls%2C_Wisconsin), in 1861. He came from an impoverished background and went to work in the logging camps around Chippewa Falls.[{{cite report|url= http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/WI.WIBlueBk1889 |title= The Blue Book of the State of Wisconsin |year= 1889 |publisher= State of Wisconsin |editor-last= Timme |editor-first= Ernst G. |chapter-url= https://images.library.wisc.edu/WI/EFacs/WIBlueBks/BlueBks/WIBlueBk1889/reference/wi.wibluebk1889.i0015.pdf |chapter= Biographical Sketches |page= 503 |accessdate= March 7, 2022 }}]
He was able to become a majority owner of the Chippewa Falls Woolen and Linen Mills, and owned a number of [greenhouse](/source/greenhouse)s.[{{cite news|url= https://www.newspapers.com/clip/12051670/leader-telegram/ |title= Benjamin F. Millard |newspaper= [Eau Claire Leader-Telegram](/source/Eau_Claire_Leader-Telegram) |date= February 10, 1926 |page= 4 |accessdate= March 7, 2022 }}] He was active with the [Republican Party of Wisconsin](/source/Republican_Party_of_Wisconsin), and was elected to the Chippewa Falls city council and the Chippewa County board of supervisors. In 1888, he was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly and served in the 1889 session of the Legislature.[{{cite report|url= http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/WI.WIBlueBk1891 |title= The Blue Book of the State of Wisconsin |year= 1891 |publisher= State of Wisconsin |editor-last= Cunningham |editor-first= Thomas J. |chapter-url= https://images.library.wisc.edu/WI/EFacs/WIBlueBks/BlueBks/WIBlueBk1891/reference/wi.wibluebk1891.i0017.pdf |chapter= Biographical Sketches |pages= 587–588 |accessdate= March 7, 2022 }}] In 1892, however, he was elected mayor of Chippewa Falls, and served a one-year term.
In 1898, he moved to the [District of Alaska](/source/District_of_Alaska). There, he organized the Galena Bay Mining Company and purchased a stake in the Bonanza Copper Mine of Alaska. He also owned or part-owned several other mining companies, including the Cliff and Granite Gold Mines.