One of the early distilleries was the Old Stone distillery, operated by W. S. Stone on the river road on the farm owned by S. R. Ewing about five miles west of Owensboro. The whisky was branded as W.S. Stone Old-Fashioned Hand Made Fire Copper Sour Mash Whiskey.
On November 8, 1880, Stone, in consideration of a certain quantity of stock in the Owensboro Distilling Company, and a royalty to be paid to him for each barrel of whiskey, entered into contract to allow that company the right to use his brand for three years. The old distillery stood until 1923.
