Hilda L. Stone

Hilda L. Stone (née Green; born August 1897) was an American bootlegger who smuggled liquor from the Canadian border to Boston during the Prohibition era. Operating from her home in West Halifax, Vermont, she transported premium liquors through New England to serve elite clientele in the Boston area. Active between 1925 and 1928, she was known as the "Queen of the Bootleggers" and "Duchess of Alcohol." She was arrested multiple times for smuggling violations and was sentenced to six months imprisonment in January 1926. Stone later became a federal fugitive after failing to appear for new charges in 1928.

Early life Hilda L. Stone (née Green) was born in August 1897 in Taftsville, Vermont. She was 28 years old at the time of her imprisonment in February 1926, though border patrol rumors circulated claiming she was between 30 and 45 years old. Despite her traditional personal habits, Stone held progressive views on gender equality, stating she didn't "believe in a double moral standard" and that "women have as much right to drink and smoke as men have, if they care to."

Stone married Frank Stone when he hired her mother to do bookkeeping work for his lumber business. Stone took over the work as a "confidential secretary," conducting evening bookkeeping sessions in her parents' dining room.

Stone claimed West Halifax, Vermont as her home, though law enforcement sources indicated she came from Colrain, Massachusetts. Stone stated that she made the decision to enter rum-running in June 1925 at her home in West Halifax, after spending months seeking ways to save the business from ruin. In a jail interview, Stone described her turn to rum-running as motivated by "love for her husband and a mad resolve to help him out of a financial squeeze." Stone also worked with another guide known as "Pete the Prowler," who was familiar with all the rum-running roads.

Stone's first customer was a prosperous, middle-aged Boston businessman who placed an order for 30 cases of premium liquors, including Veuve Clicquot, Mumm, Pol Roger, and Pommery champagnes, along with Scotch whisky and cognac. The size of this initial order convinced Stone she needed a larger vehicle than her roadster. She had the vehicle tuned "like a racing machine" and kept her roadster as a backup.

When she needed to purchase this larger vehicle, Tony introduced her to Harry Murdock, a 200-pound mechanic who would inspect the vehicle. Despite her own eight years of driving experience, Stone was impressed by Murdock's superior skills, noting he could "burn up the road without taxing the car," and described him as "level-headed and big and plucky enough to be a real protector in an emergency."

Stone described operating "on a business basis" within the smuggling network, where associates treated her with professional respect due to her serious approach to the work and her status as a married woman supporting her husband's business.

Stone adamantly denied claims that she became a bootlegger "for the thrill of it," insisting it was a "grim business proposition" undertaken "after long and careful deliberation" to help her husband and herself out of a "financial plight." She attempted other business ventures before turning to bootlegging, including raising turkeys, which she continued "when business is dull." Despite these setbacks, she worked to fulfill orders from her Boston distributor, Mr. Blank, who had "treated her on the level" and provided guidance to reduce her operational risks. Her parents had no idea she was a rum-runner, believing they were simply receiving a ride home.

Stone's first arrest occurred on August 21, 1925, when she and Harry Murdock were confronted by border patrol officers north of St. Albans, near Island Pond, Vermont. The article stated that Stone brandished a revolver at the officers when they stopped her vehicle carrying Canadian liquor, and that both she and Murdock jumped from the moving car before being overtaken. On November 11, 1925, both defendants appeared in Burlington with their attorney, M.G. Leary, and pleaded guilty. According to an Associated Press report published December 1, 1925, Stone, Harry Murdock, and Fred Knowles of Bangor, Maine, were arrested after attempting to rush the border with a load of 133 bottles of hard liquors. Liquor valued at $1,500 (approximately $27,000 in 2024 dollars) was seized from the vehicle. On December 22, 1925, Murdock and Knowles appeared in court in Montpelier, where both pleaded guilty. Murdock was sentenced to pay a fine of $1,000 and six months imprisonment in Washington County Jail in Montpelier, while Knowles was sentenced to pay a fine of $500. Deputy Collector and Inspector Walker T. Degree spotted a vehicle he suspected of carrying contraband and gave chase. She was being driven by R.J. Brickman of Providence, Rhode Island. She was arraigned and pleaded not guilty, and the case was set down for trial by jury. The court granted Stone leave to withdraw her plea of not guilty, and she was again arraigned and pleaded guilty.

In her autobiographical account, Stone explained that she chose to plead guilty rather than go to trial in order to protect her husband and parents from the scandal of court proceedings. Following her December 20 arrest, Frank Stone attempted to recover the seized automobile from federal authorities, claiming it had been "stolen from him." He traveled to Littleton, New Hampshire, where he demanded the car from federal officers but was unsuccessful. Stone then walked ten miles from Littleton to Lisbon for a meeting with Solicitor Frost, who had initiated civil forfeiture proceedings against the vehicle, but Frost was out of town. Stone subsequently hired Attorney Joseph Moore of Lebanon, New Hampshire, to contest the forfeiture. Stone, approximately 40 years old at the time, was both a sawmill operator and a second-hand car dealer. On March 1, 1928, the same defendants were indicted on a third case (number 2089) charging conspiracy under Section 37 of the Penal Code.

On March 12, 1928, when the defendants were called for arraignment in Burlington, only McKiernan and Davison appeared in court; Stone and Benjamin did not appear. McKiernan and Davison both pleaded not guilty to all charges, and their cases were consolidated for trial. On March 11, 1929, when Stone again failed to appear in court, her bail was forfeited.

On June 30, 1930, all three cases against Stone and her co-defendants were dismissed by court order.

Later life and death Following her failure to appear for the 1928 federal indictments, Stone's whereabouts and activities remain unknown. The circumstances of her later life and death have not been documented in available records.