History Conversations: Lilly Stone – A Daring Woman

Lilly Stone is a story of country life and manners near the Nation’s Capital in the late 1800s, and a daring woman’s life. Lilly Stone was born during the Civil War, and she died during the Cold War. At the stage of life when most people retire, she was not only doing men’s work but running an industry of men’s work. In 1924, at the age of 63, Mrs. Stone founded and operated Stoneyhurst, a quarry for colorful stone used in part of the National Cathedral, National Zoo and for hundreds of buildings and homes. Clara Barton encouraged her to join the DAR. Lilly Stone organized the first literary and arts clubs in the farming community, inspired the first flag for Montgomery County, Maryland, and founded the Montgomery County Historical Society. The book describes the divided loyalties of County residents living close to the Potomac River during the Civil War; letters from Lilly’s son detail World War I, and, remarkably, World War II brings German POWs to work at her quarry. With accomplishments in business and a passion for preserving history, Lilly Stone made history herself.

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