Since 1925, the former Cooke estate has hosted the Stone Laboratory of Ohio State University, one of the nation's oldest freshwater field research stations.

Its most prominent feature is a four-story octagonal tower, topped with a Gothic Revival crenellated parapet.

The single-story front porch is also topped by crenellations, with rounded-arch openings flanked by square columns.

He regularly spent time here after building the house, typically spending three weeks in the spring, and again in late summer.

He was forced to sell the island in 1874, having suffered bankruptcy due to the Panic of 1873, but recovered some of his fortune and repurchased the property in 1880.