Icehouse

Icehouse. . , During the winter, ice and snow would be cut from lakes or rivers, taken into the icehouse, and packed with insulation[ often straw or sawdust]. It would remain frozen for, many months, often until the following winter, and could be used as a source of ice during the summer months. The main application of the ice was the storage of food, but it could also be used simply to cool drinks or in the preparation of ice-cream and sorbet desserts., The icehouse you see here 12 feet deep and could hold enough ice to keep the house and kitchen in business for most of the year., From where did the ice come? More than likely the ice stored here was brought up from the Missouri River, which is about 1 1/2 miles down the path that runs through the Thornhill site. In early 1800s, the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers were much shallower that they are today and would frequently freeze over. (The rivers are now dredged to keep the shipping lanes open.), There where also several other sources of water or ice on the Thornhill grounds in the form of several ponds that are no longer in existence, including one where the St. Louis Carousel stands today.