Amasa Stone marble marker - Lake View Cemetery
The in-ground, deteriorated marble marker over the grave of Amasa Stone. At Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio. He was Cleveland's first multimillionaire, once the richest man in Ohio, and the greatest railroader the state had ever known.
He was born on April 27, 1818, on a farm near Charlton, Massachusetts. He apprenticed as a construction worker, and in 1842 bought the patent for the Howe truss bridge. He became known as New England's pre-eminent bridge builder.
In 1850, he moved to Cleveland to begin building railroad bridges. He soon began building railroads themselves, and was appointed a director of the Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati Railroad and then the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway. He became a confidant of Cornelius Vanderbilt and John D. Rockefeller, and advised Abraham Lincoln on supply issues during the Civil War. He got into steel mills, woolen mills, iron mills, factories, banks, and automobile manufacture as well.
He suffered a health breakdown in 1868, and again in 1875. In 1876, a bridge over the Ashtabula River which he had designed collapsed -- killing 92 people.
He devoted himself to charity afterward, and helped Western College (now Case Western Reserve University) move to Cleveland. His physical and mental health deteriorated, and in 1883 he shot himself.
Amasa Stone married Julia Gleason in 1842. Their son, Adelbert, drowned while attending Yale University. Their elder daughter, Clara, married John Hay, Lincoln's private secretary. Their younger daughter, Flora, married Samuel Mather -- founder of the giant mining and shipping firm of Pickands Mather.
The Mathers have been one of Cleveland's great business and charitable dynasties.
Amasa Stone marble marker - Lake View Cemetery
The in-ground, deteriorated marble marker over the grave of Amasa Stone. At Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio. He was Cleveland's first multimillionaire, once the richest man in Ohio, and the greatest railroader the state had ever known.
He was born on April 27, 1818, on a farm near Charlton, Massachusetts. He apprenticed as a construction worker, and in 1842 bought the patent for the Howe truss bridge. He became known as New England's pre-eminent bridge builder.
In 1850, he moved to Cleveland to begin building railroad bridges. He soon began building railroads themselves, and was appointed a director of the Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati Railroad and then the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway. He became a confidant of Cornelius Vanderbilt and John D. Rockefeller, and advised Abraham Lincoln on supply issues during the Civil War. He got into steel mills, woolen mills, iron mills, factories, banks, and automobile manufacture as well.
He suffered a health breakdown in 1868, and again in 1875. In 1876, a bridge over the Ashtabula River which he had designed collapsed -- killing 92 people.
He devoted himself to charity afterward, and helped Western College (now Case Western Reserve University) move to Cleveland. His physical and mental health deteriorated, and in 1883 he shot himself.
Amasa Stone married Julia Gleason in 1842. Their son, Adelbert, drowned while attending Yale University. Their elder daughter, Clara, married John Hay, Lincoln's private secretary. Their younger daughter, Flora, married Samuel Mather -- founder of the giant mining and shipping firm of Pickands Mather.
The Mathers have been one of Cleveland's great business and charitable dynasties.