The original settlement of Stone Lake was located in Washburn County prior to 1887.  The first residents, like restless tenants, relocated the village on higher land -- a hill located in Sawyer County.  The young village enjoyed an attractive setting being situated amidst three beautiful lakes - Sand Lake and Little Sand Lake to the east and Stone Lake to the west.  The little village resembled a gem set on a cushion of greenish black of the surrounding pine forests.

Transporation was slow and tedious since travel was done over logging roads and Indian trails.  Horse drawn wagons and ox carts were the mode of travel since the Wisconsin Central Railway did not complete its Duluth to Chicago division until the early part of the twentieth century.  Mail was carried from Hayward with ox team and cart.  It was a happy day in 1907 when regular passenger train service was established.

The luxuriant growth of pines and hemlocks furnished the incentive to exploit this area of Sawyer County.  Logging was the only industry in this region.  Millions of board feet of pine and hemlock lumber were sawed and shipped out of Stone Lake.

After the forests were cut away new occupations were sought by the residents.  Some of the people engaged in farming.  The soil was not well suited to agriculture since the base was sand and the top soil was formed by evergreen forest cover.  Evergreen foliage forms a low grade duff quite different from humus formed by grass and leaf mold.

Other residents foresaw success in a new enterprise which was becoming popular in the northwoods country.  City folk were beginning to seek relaxation and rest away from the hurry-scurry and noise of the city.  They were traveling to the northwoods to hunt, fish, and rest.  Their homes away from home were inns and hotels in the villages near the lakes.  This mode of living was inconvenient because travel to and from the lakes was slow and costly.  Resorts began to develop.  In the beginning the resort was a hotel located on a lake shore with boats available to the guests.  These resorts operated only in the summertime.  As the resort business began to flourish, housekeeping cabins were built and entire families vacationed together.  With the advent of the automobiles and improved roads, resorts were built nearer the less accessible lakes where the vacationers could rest and relax in peace and solitude.

Stone Lake serves a large summer population who visit the vacation areas of Sand Lake, Stone Lake, Lac Court Oreilles, Windigo Lake, Whitefish Lake, Chippewa Flowage, Sissibagama Lake, Chetac Lake, and many smaller lakes.

Stone Lake offered these services to its residents and visitors as of 1957:  postal, railroad passenger, freight and express, telegraph, general merchandise stores, taverns, garages, service stations, lumber and building supplies, cheese factory, community hall, and public elementary schools.