When Ice Harvesting Was Cool

March 31, 2022

From the early 1800s until the middle of the 20th century, the ice industry was big business in the United States. In the days before refrigeration, the only way to keep food from spoiling was to use ice that was cut from a frozen river or lake. Harvesting ice was a common wintertime activity and ice was viewed as a ‘cold-weather crop’. 

A colorized photo of three men saw through a frozen lake to "harvest" the ice. (Photo by © Minnesota Historical Society/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

Cutting and harvesting the large blocks of ice from a frozen river was a labor-intensive job. It took strong, robust men and intimidating tools to cut the 300-pound blocks of ice and transport them to an icehouse where, ideally, they would remain frozen until it was time to harvest ice again the next winter. In this collection of colorized photographs, we get a unique look back in time to when ice harvesting was cool … or at least, a lucrative industry. 

Why Harvest Ice?

A colorized image of ice harvesting in Minnesota. Peep the old plane in the background. (mnhs.org)

Ice was an important commodity before the widespread use of refrigeration. Giant blocks of ice kept railroad boxcars cool enough to ship meat, milk, and produce to market. Grocery stores, butcher shops, breweries, cheese shops, and creameries. Individual families needed to buy ice every week for their icebox, an insulated cooler-like box that kept meat and milk from spoiling. As a rare treat on hot summer days, a family may add ice to their lemonade or use it to make homemade ice cream.