Stone and Webster

US electrical engineers. In 1889 they opened the Massachusetts Electrical Engineering Company, a consulting firm. The first project was a hydroelectric plant to supply a Maine paper mill (1890). They managed public utilities from 1895; established a securities department in 1902 to finance utility companies; and continued engineering and construction. By the 1930s Stone and Webster had completed more than $1 billion in construction, significantly advancing the electrification of America.

Stone was born in Newton, Massachusetts, and Webster was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts. They met at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; both studied electrical engineering, becoming such close friends that they were always known as ‘Stone and Webster’. Among their notable achievements was the Los Angeles Big Creek transmission system in 1913. In 1920 they incorporated as Stone & Webster, Inc., and in subsequent years they established subsidiary firms to manage various aspects of their operations – the sale of securities, the engineering and construction projects, the management of public utilities. By 1912 they occupied an eight-story building with about 600 consultants and employees.