With its brick facade and arched windows, Stone Hall has been a cornerstone of The Storm King School campus for nearly a century. The building’s exterior hasn’t changed much over time, but its use has evolved according to the needs of the School. Initially constructed as an infirmary, the building later served as a boys’ and girls’ dormitory, a well as an academic building.

It is believed that Stone Hall (initially called the New Infirmary, then Stone House) was named after John Hodges Stone ’30, who passed away on campus in December of 1928 from complications associated with strep throat. He had four brothers at Storm King: Henry ’25, James ’27, Percival ’29, and Timothy ’34. Their father and surgeon Dr. Timothy Stone had journeyed to the School to treat John, but it was before the age of antibiotics and there was little he could do. With John’s death, the need to build an infirmary on campus became evident.

 

 

School officials wasted no time in having the plans for the New Infirmary building drawn up by the firm of Henry Otis Chapman. Once approved, the first floor of the proposed three-story building was constructed by B. M. Higginson, Inc. sometime between 1929 and 1931 and began its use as an infirmary. Once the first floor was completed, the plans to add two more stories remained, and the infrastructure to do so had been put in place, but the building has remained a single-story structure until the present day.

 

 

By the mid-twentieth century, Stone Hall had been converted to a dormitory which housed boys and later girls. Later in its history, the building had also been used for academics . It once housed the School’s Academic Support Program, previously known as the Mountain Center, before it was converted back for use as a boys’ dormitory as it stands today. Many of our alumni have fond memories of dorm life in Stone Hall and its conservatory wing, with its distinctive arched windows that offer non-stop sun during the afternoon.