A few months after the Union League made its accusations of disloyalty, Clark requested a leave of absence because of an ongoing illness. When he did not return by January 1, 1866, the Board of State Capitol Commissioners appointed a new architect to fill Clark’s vacated position.
On February 5, Reuben Clark was committed to the Stockton State Hospital for “violent burst[s] of passion” that threatened his family, caused by “too close attention to the building of the State Capitol.” Clark died of “general paralysis” on July 4, 1866. The Commission denied his final request to be buried on the grounds of the state capitol, and he was laid to rest in the Masonic Cemetery in San Francisco. Identification Information: Stockton State Hospital Patient Register, Department of Mental Hygiene.