The Stone Academy

Constructed in 1809 of sandstone quarried from nearby Putnam Hill, the Stone Academy was erected by the Springfield School House Company, apparently in an effort to lure the statehouse from Chillicothe. When Zanesville was chosen as the capital the following year, the building instead served public functions and its intended purpose as a school. The Ohio Anti-Slavery Society held state conventions there in 1835 and 1839, attended by prominent abolitionist Theodore Weld and others. After 1839, the Stone Academy became a private residence, and in the 1870s it was the childhood home of Elizabeth Robins, later known as an actress, playwright, author, and activist. In 1981, it was donated to the Pioneer and Historical Society of Muskingum County.

Pleasant Grove, Ohio · United States