Amasa Stone

Who was Amasa Stone?

Amasa Stone was an American industrialist who built railroads and invested in mills in Ohio. He was a major benefactor of Western Reserve College, which became part of Case Western Reserve University in 1967. Amasa Stone Chapel was built after his death in his memory. The building named after his son, Adelbert Hall, is still the home of the university administration.

Stone committed suicide by gunshot following financial setbacks in 1883. Stone's suicide may also have been due in part to his role in the Ashtabula River Railroad Disaster. He was one of the designers of the faulty bridge and was found to be partly at fault for the bridge's collapse.

In 1905 Mesaba Steamship Company launched a Great Lakes bulk freighter named in honor of Amasa Stone, managed by Pickands Mather, eventually sailing under the Interlake Steamship banner. She sailed until 1960. Since 1965 the hull of the Amasa Stone has served as a breakwater for the St. Mary's Cement shipping terminal in Charlevoix, Michigan along with the hull of the Charles S. Hebard.