John Lemuel Stone
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John Lemuel Stone (1852 - 1933) was a pioneer in agriculture education.
Stone was born in 1852 in Waverly, Pennsylvania, where he grew up on his family's farm. He was one of three agriculture students enrolled at Cornell University Agriculture School, when Isaac P Roberts arrived to serve as dean in 1874. After graduating that same year, Stone returned home and spent the next twenty-three years farming. During this time he developed innovative methods of animal feeding and was active in agricultural, civic, and educational affairs in his community.
In 1897, Stone was invited to join the Cornell agriculture staff. He first served primarily as a teacher in the college's fledgling cooperative extension program, where one of his interests was the cultural problems of farm crops. His publications on this topic were the first in the United States. He was actively involved in expanding the college's extension efforts and also taught many winter short courses for farmers.
Stone was appointed assistant professor in 1903. Four years later, in recognition of his unparalleled knowledge of the university's agricultural properties, he was appointed professor of farm practice and assumed management of the university farm. Professor Stone retired as professor emeritus in 1919. In September, 1933, following his death, Stone Hall was named in his honor. Following the demolition of Stone Hall in the 1980s, the Mann Library computer center was dedicated in his honor.
