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’.
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?
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.
Blocks of Ice
To prevent the ice from melting too quickly, ice harvesters had to cut large blocks from the lakes or rivers. Workers waited until the temperatures were below freezing for several weeks before they began their work. That way the ice was at least 18 inches. Ideally, ice harvesters wanted the ice to be even thicker so they could cut two-foot by two-foot squares of ice. Blocks of ice this large were quite heavy, weighing as much as 300 pounds each.
The Ice Harvesting Process
The ice was cut either by hand with a long, sharp-toothed ice saw or by using a horse-drawn ice plow, a special device designed for the job. Tools of rice harvesting were made of strong iron or steel and designed to be durable enough to withstand the harsh conditions and the brutal temperatures. The ice harvesters started by cutting a grid into the surface of the ice to mark out large chunks of ice. These blocks were then cut into 18- to 24-inch squares using longhand saws. The blocks were removed from the water using large, iron hoisting tongs.
Ice Floats
As heavy as they were, the large blocks of ice still float. Once a channel was cut into the lake or river to expose open water, the blocks of ice could be floated to shore. This method moved the ice closer to the wagons and took a bit of the burden off the ice harvesters. To move the ice, harvesters use ice hooks. These were long, wooden poles with iron spikes and hooks at the end. The ice harvesters could stand on the edge of the ice, wearing crampons on their boots for added traction, and use the ice hooks to snare the blocks of ice and pull them through the water. Closer to shore, men stood on piers to pluck the heavy blocks from the frigid water with the hoisting tongs.
To the Icehouse
The blocks of ice were loaded onto wagons and a team of horses would pull the heavy load to the town’s icehouse. Icehouses were typically built near the waterways, but close enough to the town or village they served. Some icehouses were built partially underground. Others were built in places that were shaded throughout the day. All were well-insulated to keep the ice frozen as long as possible. The large blocks of ice were tightly stacked in the icehouses. Sawdust or straw was spread on the blocks to act as another layer of insulation. Icehouses in smaller villages could accommodate between 10 and 25 tons of ice. In bigger cities, the icehouses could hold as much as 300,000 tons of ice. When a customer needed ice, a block was chipped free, and the icehouse was sealed up tightly once again. If the icehouse was well-constructed, ice would remain frozen until the following winter.
A Winter Cash Crop
As the need for ice increased, ice became a lucrative cash crop. Farmers, who had little to do in the winter months, could harvest ice from their local lakes or ponds and sell it to larger communities. The window of time for harvesting ice was relatively small. In many places, ice harvesters operated around the clock, using moonlight and kerosene lanterns to keep the ice cutting going all night.
A Lost Industry
When President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Rural Electrification Act of 1936, legislation to fund the installation of electricity in rural and isolated areas of the country, he inadvertently signed the death sentence for the ice industry. Once people had access to electricity and refrigeration, the need for ice dropped off dramatically. Yes, the ice industry is still alive – you use it every time you stop at the gas station for a bag of ice for your cooler when you head to the beach – but the days of ice harvesting on America’s lakes and rivers ended around 1950.