Ethan Stone
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ethan Stone (1767–1852) was an American lawyer, banker, politician, and philanthropist from Cincinnati, Ohio.[1] A major property investor, he became influential in state politics, but his fortunes waxed and waned with the local property market.[2] His considerable wealth at the time of his death produced the first elections open to local women as part of the longest trust case in state history.[3]
Stone originally lived in Massachusetts. In 1802, he arrived in Cincinnati by covered wagon and established a legal practice.[3] He made extensive property investments, eventually becoming a millionaire.[2] He served as a trustee on the Cincinnati Select Council in 1805[4] and as clerk of council in 1810.[5] From 1805 to 1806, he represented Hamilton County in the Ohio House of Representatives as a member of the Federalist Party.[3] He also served as a justice of the peace.[6]
In 1810, Stone used his political clout to convince the Ohio General Assembly to lease to him Section 29 of Cincinnati Township, which he would then sublet. In 1814, the Bank of Cincinnati was organized with Stone as president.[3][7] From 1818 to 1820, he and the bank suffered heavy losses as the property market crashed.[2] The lease was amended in 1821, allowing him to rent the section for $40 annually for 99 years, renewable in perpetuity. It would prove lucrative to Stone.[3]
Stone twice ran unsuccessfully to represent Ohio's 1st congressional district in the United States House of Representatives in 1812 and 1818. By the early 1820s, he had retired from banking due to failing eyesight.[1]
Mill Creek bridge
In 1816 or 1817, the Hamilton County Board of County Commissioners commissioned Stone to build a bridge across Mill Creek. However, a flood in the spring of 1822 washed away the bridge before the commissioners would accept it. He bore the entire loss of more than $100,000, which nearly ruined him. He spent the next 20 years making his contract good, erecting a more elaborate stone and wood structure, which the commissioners purchased and made a free bridge. A flood in 1832 carried the wooden portion down to an island above Louisville, Kentucky, where it was dismantled and shipped back to Cincinnati by flatboat. Years later, the bridge was again destroyed by fire.[8][9]
Religion and philanthropy
Stone belonged to the Episcopal Church. In 1817, he co-founded Christ Church along with other prominent city leaders. He served as the first warden along with Elijah Bemis and as the first delegate to the Episcopal Diocese of Ohio.[10]
Around 1823, Stone helped Dr. John Locke establish the Cincinnati Female Academy, a nonsectarian school for the city's elite.[1] He was a major donor to the College of Cincinnati at its inception.[11]
Personal life
_MET_ap39.132.jpg)
Stone married Abigail Maria Storrs in 1795.[12] Though she was known as Mrs. Ethan Stone, he named Storrs Township after her maiden name.
His nephew, Dan Stone, served in the Illinois General Assembly and as an Illinois circuit court judge.[13]