Stone Lab's Gibraltar Island

Gibraltar Island is a 6.5-acre dolomitic limestone island in Lake Erie, Ohio in Put-in-Bay township, named for its resemblance to the Rock of Gibraltar in the Mediterranean Sea. It was once a lookout point for Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry in the fight against the British during the War of 1812. Perry and his men defeated a fleet of British sailing vessels during the famous Battle of Lake Erie on September 10, 1813. Gibraltar Island was sold to Julius Stone in 1925 by Laura Barney, daughter of Civil War financier Jay Cooke. Julius immediately deeded the property to the Ohio State University for the purpose of conduct research and educational activities about Lake Erie. The OSU Board of Trustees moved OSU’s Lake Laboratory to Gibraltar Island and renamed the lab for Julius Stone’s father – Franz Theodore Stone. Stone Lab has been in operation since June 22, 1929 making it the oldest biological field station in the U.S.