Stonegate Village

Julius F. Stone (1855-1947) was the original owner of the Stonegate Village property. 

Stone spent his early years on a farm and completed only six years of formal education, but gained broad culture and knowledge through extensive reading.

In 1867, at age 12, he began work as a railroad telegrapher and continued to work on the railroad until 1880. He was involved in coal mining in Ohio, West Virginia, Illinois and Iowa until 1903.

From these humble beginnings, Stone became an influential Columbus industrialist. He was owner of the Seagrave Co. (maker of fire engines) and the Ohio Buggy Works, and an adventurous man. Stone was a trustee of The Ohio State University (OSU), and in 1925, he donated Gibraltar Island in Lake Erie near Put-In-Bay to OSU to establish what would become Stone Lab. The cover photograph shows the elderly Stone posing in his Westwood Avenue yard on his motorcycle.

Edna Stone (spouse of Julius) was also civically active, and served as president of the Franklin County Women's Suffrage Association. During the demolition of the Stone mansion, a large number of petitions to amend the 1914 Ohio Constitution so women could vote were found under the floorboards. Learn more about Edna Stone on the Inspiring Women walking tour.

Stone was also interested in environmental conservation and loved exploring. He organized and conducted the first expedition to photograph the Colorado River in 1909. Stone's book Canyon Country: The Romance of a Drop of Water and a Grain of Sand is his account of this amazing journey. Stone Creek in the Grand Canyon is named after Stone.  (See more details on the expedition from the Grandview Heights/Marble Cliff Historical Society.)

Three of the 1909 expedition boats at Desolation Canyon on the Green River in Utah. 

Photograph from J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah.  

Stone rowed this 16-foot flat-bottom wood boat on the 1909 expedition. It was designed by Nathaniel Galloway, who co-organized the expedition with Stone. This boat style would remain the choice for river running until the introduction of inflatable rafts. Galloway was an expert navigator, and on the 1909 expedition, rowed into rapids stern first, which was a novel approach at the time.  This approach, which allowed more visibility and control, became the foundation for current rafing techniques.    

This boat is now in the Grand Canyon Archival Collection. Photograph from American Southwest Virtual Museum

Stone is sitting front left in this 1926 photo of the OSU Board of Trustees, where he served for more than 20 years. Stone is sitting in front of Alma W. Paterson, the first female member of the Board.