abounded — a passing tramp, perhaps. The call went out to Ontario Provincial Police Inspector William Greer.
Two leads led to dead ends. The mystery seemed to deepen when Stone’s sister reported having had a dream the week before her brother’s death in which she had seen him shot at work in the same manner as the actual crime.
An inquest into the murder began in January 1915, and continued intermittently until June when another event shed some light on the crime. Apparently, William Stone Sr., the murder victim’s father, had arrived home late on the evening of June 18 after consuming some spirits in a nearby hotel. He thought he had become a suspect.
Stone Sr. went to pieces when he was called as a witness at the inquest. Somehow he had assumed that he was now the target of the investigation. He was sure that the authorities were linking him to his son’s murder. Unable to bear up, Billy’s Father set out that night to end his life. At the Grand Trunk Railway, not too far from the scene of the crime, he lay down on the tracks and waited. William Stone Sr. was killed instantly. Was he the murderer?
It was plausible. William Stone Sr. did have a reputation as a heavy drinker and had appeared in court relatively recently on charges of assaulting his daughter while under the influence. He had even threatened to kill her. Had he killed his own son for insurance money?
Harry Birmingham, a close friend of William Stone Jr., had been the last person to see him before his death. Birmingham claimed he had left the station at 11:30 p.m. on the night of the murder. Birmingham had apparently said that he and Stone had been fired at in a field by Corbett’s Crossing (Thickson and the CNR). However, Birmingham denied this story at the inquest.
Two bus drivers who had often chatted with the victim when they arrived at the station to pick up passengers testified that one, and sometimes two, revolvers were kept in the drawer of Stone’s desk. Were the revolvers in the desk drawer on the night of the murder? The police found no revolvers in the drawer. Birmingham owned an old revolver, but the .38 calibre bullet that killed Stone did not fit his gun. Birmingham was cleared.
Brian Winters, Whitby’s historical archivist, first reported this story in the local paper and adds, “One Whitby resident recalls that many years later, in the 1920s or 30s a man was executed in the United States. As the trap door dropped, he confessed to a murder in Whitby. But it was too late to find out what murder it was, for he was dead before he could complete what he was saying.”
The murder of Billy Stone remains unsolved. Who really left their bloody handprint at the scene of the crime? Does Billy still haunt the old Train Station?
A famous sheriff and a famous murder — just a glimpse of the colourful history of this portside town.
Bibliography
Abbott, George F. Abbott’s Guide to Ottawa, Hull & Vicinity, 2nd Edition. Publisher unknown: Ottawa, 1911.
Barlow, Shirley. Gravenhurst: An Album of Memories and Mysteries. Gravenhurst: Gravenhurst Book Committee, 1993.
Beattie, Owen and John Geiger. Frozen in Time. Saskatoon: Western Producer Prairie Books: 1987.
Boyer, Robert. Woodchester Villa. Bracebridge: Bracebridge Historical Society, 1982.
Boyle, Terry. Under This Roof. Toronto: Doubleday, 1980.
Boyle, Terry. Ontario Memories. Toronto: Polar Bear Press, 1998.
Craig, W. Arnot. Little Tales of Old Port Hope. Port Hope: Guide Publishing, 1966.
Conway, Abbott. A History of Beardmore and Company Limited. Toronto: Canada Packers Inc., 1990.
Farmer, Samuel. On the Shores of Scugog. Port Perry: Port Perry Star, 1934.
Fletcher, Katharine. Capital Walks. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1993.
Fraser, Mary. Joseph Brant, Thayendanegea. Burlington: Joseph Brant Museum, 1969.
Guillet, Edwin C. Toronto: From Trading Post to Great City. Toronto: Ontario Publishing Company, 1939.
Hunt, Maureen. A Thumb Nail Sketch of Early Huntsville. Toronto: Boston Mills Press, 1998.
Johnson, Leo A. History of the County of Ontario, 1615–1875. Whitby: Corporation of the County of Ontario, 1973.
Killan, Gerald. David Boyle. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1983. Malcolmson, Patricia. To Preserve and Defend. Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 1976.
Mika, Nick and Helma. Places in Ontario. Belleville: Mika Publishing, 1977.
Mika, Nick and Helma. Belleville, the Seat of Hastings County. Belleville: Mika Publishing, 1986.
Murray, Florence. B. Muskoka and Haliburton 1615–1875. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1963.
Paudash, Johnston. Coming of the Mississaga. Ontario Historical Society Papers and Records V.1, 1905.
Philpot, Andre L. A Species of Adventure. Marmora: Irontown Publications, 1990.
Reynolds, Nila. Bancroft, A Bonanza of Memories. Bancroft: Bancroft Centennial Committee, 1979.
Stafford, David. Camp X. Toronto: Lester & Orpen Dennys, 1986.
Toronto Civic Historical Committee. Historic Toronto. 1953.
Wing, Agnes I. History of Parry Sound. Privately published: date unknown.
Newspapers
“Gravenhurst Was Ablaze 100 Years,” Muskoka Advance, September 20, 1987.
“The Great Fire,” Huntsville Forester, April 13, 1894.
“The Most Mysterious Wreck” Imperial Oil Fleet News (1965), Vol 17, No. 2: 3–5.
Pryke, Susan, “From Hospital to Prison Camp to Fine Hotel.” The Muskokan, July 30, 1992.
“Steamships Used in Huntsville’s Early Years,” Huntsville Hearld-News Centennial Supplement, March 19, 1986.
“Who Shot Billy Stone?” Whitby Free Press, December 8, 1984.
Haunted Ontario
Introduction
As a young child I would wait anxiously for sleep. Bed never seemed a particular secure place. It was dark; I felt alone and vulnerable in the night. The subtle play of shadows on the walls and the flowing, bulky curtains danced the waltz of the unknown. The night closed the door to sight and light. There was no comfort, no warmth; it was very still. It would happen then.
From the depths of mystery a vision would begin. Spiralling, spiralling, the image would draw closer ever brighter and clearer like a shooting star at night.
My eyes, forced to open, were pierced by light. Filled with terror, I would shake and scream aloud from the suffocating feeling in my room. As quickly as it occurred, it disappeared. Fear had slammed the door.
These visitations continued throughout my childhood. At first my screams of panic brought my mother to the room where she offered comfort to me and encouraged me to go back to sleep. Her warmth and kindness brought the light back, and yet I knew “it” lurked there still.
The frequency of visitations enabled me to understand how to bring them forth at will. If I welcomed the experience without fear and allowed it to spiral freely, I knew then, in my heart, that something very unique and special would take place — something very different. Unfortunately, it never became clearer than a blur because it happened very fast and as I grew it happened