The McGregor story starts in 1877 when Amasa Stone, the legendary capitalist and prominent Cleveland philanthropist, and his wife, Julia, built and endowed one of the first private organizations in Cleveland specifically for the care of seniors — the Home for Aged Women, later to be renamed the Amasa Stone House, on what is now East 46th Street and Cedar Avenue.

After training as a carpenter and building contractor in his native Massachusetts and moving to Cleveland in 1850, Amasa turned his considerable ambition to transportation. He built the Lake Shore Railroad, which ran between Erie, Pennsylvania and Cleveland as part of the New York Central. During hte post-Civil War industrial boom, he found himself among America's elite railroad builders. He also worked with his brother-in-law, William Howe, in designing a truss bridge to sustain heavy loads of rail cargo over short spans, like small gullies and ravines.