The James A. Stone Papers consist of personal, business, and political correspondence, letter books, and miscellaneous material including articles and addresses. No attempt was made to classify the collection according to subject. The business and political papers are filed together chronologically. The first few years consist mainly of letters, bills, etc. concerning his law practice, but from 1897, when Stone was a candidate for the office of judge of Sauk County until the end, many letters are to be found concerning the political situation, primarily in Wisconsin.
The business papers are a rather heterogeneous lot. They consist of representative letters concerning his law practice, real estate transactions, and various other enterprises. As a real estate dealer, Stone not only bought and sold farms but operated some of them himself. A farmer at heart, he was not disappointed when his only son, Riley, chose to live in the country, and many letters are exchanged between father and son concerning farm commodities, prices of land, etc. One gets a fair sense of the times by reading the family correspondence in this collection. Bills and receipts, together with twelve letter books (1892-1907) give an estimate of the extent of business transacted.
In 1903 reports, correspondence, and bills concerning the Milwaukee Zinc and Lead Mining Company and its successor, the Crawford Mining Company of Hazel Green, begin to appear. Frances E. McGovern and Stone were officers in these unfortunate enterprises and it was in this connection that they became well acquainted. Several letters from McGovern are found during this period and the stockholders comprised many men of importance including Paul S. Reinsch, Alfred T. Rogers, and others. One gets a first-hand account of the mining interests and how mines were operated shortly after the turn of the century.
Another business interest was the Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Company, of which Stone was a stockholder. When motorcycles were in their infancy he became interested in the machines, ordered all the literature he heard of, and studied the various models. He purchased one of the numbers the Harley-Davidson Company featured and learned to ride. He became so enthusiastic that he later invested money in the enterprise.
As secretary of the Reedsburg Canning Company, Stone had considerable responsibility and carried on correspondence with stockholders, officers, and people interested in investing, as well as withdrawing their funds. A summary, 1936, giving the history of the company is filed in Box 28 of the Correspondence.
In 1936 the Sauk County Historical Society was bequeathed some money to purchase a building in which to store its records. The Ringling home in Baraboo was considered to be a suitable place, and since the Ringling family was interested in disposing of the large house at a moderate price, Stone corresponded with members of the Ringling family including John, Mrs. Albert Ringling, and Ida Ringling North. Because there was a question concerning the immediate release of the funds the Historical Society inherited, the house was sold to the Elks Club of Baraboo for a very nominal figure. The correspondence concerning this matter is filed in Box 28 of the collection.
