The Origins of Stone House 19

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The story of Stone House 19 begins with Jagstone Haven, a remarkable 5,000-square-foot, single-level Earth home built into a hillside overlooking the lake at mile marker 19. Created as a home for J.B and Reva Anderson—and their pet jaguars—the estate was (and remains) unlike anything else at the Lake of the Ozarks.

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An Architecture of Circles

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The lead architect later described Jagstone Haven as the favorite project of his career.  Its distinctive design was organized around four circular forms: the Lounge, the Music room, the Anderson Suite, and the main staircase.  The remainder of the floor plan extended these central circles, ultimately creating a more rectangular exterior footprint.

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Hidden Within the Hillside

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One of the home’s most extraordinary features was its roof.  Constructed from concrete up to two feet thick, it used a waffle-slab structure capable of supporting approximately eight feet of water across the entire structure.   The Anderson's decorated their roof with three feet of soil topped with a lawn.

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From the road, visitors saw mostly grass and trees, interrupted by only a few small structures.  Two of the structures concealed the home’s HVAC equipment.  The primary structure at the center marked the circular entrance to the residence.

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To enter Jagstone Haven, visitors descended a 12 foot diameter exterior circular staircase approximately 14 feet down to the front door, arriving in the area now known as the Lounge Alcove.

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Built to Endure

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The Andersons constructed their home with locally sourced natural stone over an exceptionally strong concrete structure. The exterior walls consist of approximately 10 inches of concrete surrounded by stone. In many areas, natural stone faces both the exterior and interior surfaces. Every load-bearing wall was also constructed from concrete.

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The quality of that construction became especially evident decades later. When the current owners removed the original interior walls and ceilings, they found no visible cracking in the underlying structure.

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A Home for the Andersons—and Their Jaguars

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Jagstone Haven was designed not only for the Andersons but also for their unusual pets. The jaguars had their own enclosed pathway extending from the house down the hillside toward the lake.

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The completed residence was a circularly organized stone Earth home embedded in the side of a hill, with extraordinary views across the water. Its massive concrete construction, natural stonework, innovative roof, and unmistakable geometry created the enduring foundation from which Stone House 19 would eventually emerge.