Fort Ritchie in Washington County, Maryland — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

The Ice Lakes

Photographed by Allen C. Browne, April 24, 2017

1. The Ice Lakes Marker

Inscription. Until the mid-1920s, the Buena Vista Ice Company of Germantown (now Cascade), Maryland, was located on this site for the harvesting of natural ice used to preserve produce and dairy products during shipment. It was one of the southernmost operations of its kind on the East Coast.

From December to February , the ice in the center lake was measured daily. When it reached a thickness of at least eight inches, a loud steam whistle summoned workers from the mountain. Through snow drifts and over ice-rutted dirt roads, 50 to 100 hardy men came to the lake. They worked from dawn to dusk for $1.35 to $1.75 a day. The ice was stored in eleven wooden ice houses, each capable of holding 32,000 pounds of ice for up to three years.

In 1926, the Maryland National Guard selected this area for the building of a summer training camp. (Camp Albert C. Ritchie) and the Buena Vista Ice Company passed into the pages of local history.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Industry & Commerce. A significant historical year for this entry is 1926.

Location. 39° 42.557′ N, 77° 29.693′ W. Marker is in Fort Ritchie, Maryland,

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in Washington County. It can be reached from Lake Royer Drive. In front of Lakeside Hall on Fort Ritchie. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 14324 Lake Royer Drive, Cascade MD 21719, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Baltimore Metro Region

and in Western Maryland.

It is also in the American Mid-Atlantic,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Northern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once one of the original Thirteen Colonies.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Lakeside Hall (a few steps from this marker); WW II Veterans Memorial (approx. 0.2 miles away); D-Day Anniversary (approx. 0.2 miles away); Military Intelligence Training Center (approx. ¼ mile away); Robert F. Barrick Memorial Library (approx. ¼ mile away); War Returns to South Mountain (approx. 0.9 miles away); Old Trolley Line (approx. one mile away in Pennsylvania); Dr. Henry Harbaugh (approx. 2 miles away

Photographed by Allen C. Browne, April 24, 2017

2. The Ice Lakes Marker

in Pennsylvania). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Fort Ritchie.

Lakeside Hall image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Allen C. Browne, April 24, 2017

3. Lakeside Hall

Lake Royer<br>Behind Lakeside Hall image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Allen C. Browne, April 24, 2017

4. Lake Royer
Behind Lakeside Hall

The Ice Harvest Lake Royer<br>Diorama at Fort Ritchie Community Center image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Allen C. Browne, April 24, 2017

5. The Ice Harvest Lake Royer
Diorama at Fort Ritchie Community Center

Photographed by Allen C. Browne, April 24, 2017

6. The Ice Harvest Lake Royer
Diorama at Fort Ritchie Community Center

Inside an Ice House

Credits. This page was last revised on April 26, 2017. It was originally submitted on April 25, 2017, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. This page has been viewed 890 times since then and 30 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on April 25, 2017, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.