In days gone by the only way to keep food cold was to build an ice house and haul ice harvested in frozen lakes into the house for safekeeping. The ice would be used throughout the spring and summer months to keep food and drinks cold.
On the grounds of White Memorial Foundation, visitors can take the yellow-blazed lake trail to the ruins of the ice house on its' grounds. Access the Ice House Ruins Trail by taking the 1-mile Lake Trail loop, which begins in the Main Area of the property (near the Museum). For a PDF to print out of the Ice House Ruins Trail click here.
There are eight points of interest to see along this trail that includes sites where there was a conveyer that brought the ice from Bantam Lake and a canal where the ice blocks went through a planer that shaved the cakes into a uniform size. Look for the remains of the old railroad bed where the ice cakes were loaded onto railway cars and shipped as far as New Yirk City. When you see the ice house foundation, think of a building some 36 feet high and 110 feet wide. This foundation has a marker and is to the left of the trail. A path to the left of the trail leads to the remains of the elevator and pump house foundation as well as the end of the inland canal. Just in front of the trail is a large ice harvest field that once had 14 compartments that held more than 4,000 tons of ice each. On either side of the road were dorms where the workers slept and ate. Keep your eyes peeled for the railroad spur that led out to the mainline of the Shepaug Railroad.
Ice was normally harvested from late November through early March. This historic walk gives visitors an idea of the harsh work that went into cutting and hauling blocks of ice and makes us appreciate our refrigerators that much more!
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