Julius Stone

Ohio millionaire Julius Stone, already familiar with the river, set out to duplicate Major Powell's run down the Green and Colorado Rivers. After Powell refused to help him, Stone hired Than Galloway to travel to Ohio and build the boats. Stone had floated Glen Canyon on the Colorado River with Galloway in 1899, and the two had become friends. On September 12th, 1909, the Stone-Galloway party launched from Green River, Wyoming, after a local man, Mr. Morris, let them use his barn to organize their gear and gave Stone a bottle of rye whiskey in case of an accident; twenty five years later, Stone still had the bottle unopened. The party included Stone, Galloway, C.C. Sharp, Seymour Dubendorff, and Raymond Cogswell. Reaching Needles, California, on November 19th, 1909, the men completed the entire journey in less than two months, the fastest descent of the rivers and canyons at the time. Stone's purpose in floating the Green River was simply to seek the experience itself, making him the first paying tourist on the river.

Green River, Wyoming · United States