Sadsbury Township near Conneaut Lake in Crawford County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

The Ice Industry and the Ice Houses

Photographed by Mike Wintermantel, June 20, 2014

1. The Ice Industry and the Ice Houses Marker

Inscription. Just east of Ice House Park stood two large wooden structures to store ice harvested from the lake during the winter. Inclined wooden ramps led from the frozen lake to storage within the buildings whose walls were 12 inches thick and filled with sawdust. Packed in additional sawdust for insulation, the ice was preserved through the summer. Storage capacity was approximately 12,000 tons. Ice was shipped by railroad throughout the eastern United States to markets that included Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and east as far as New York City. Conneaut Lake ice was known for its purity.

The Conneaut Lake Ice Company was founded in 1880 at the end of the canal era, and as railroads were becoming a dominate method of transportation. Ice harvesting, storage, and shipping was an important business for Evansburg, now Conneaut Lake Borough, employing 200 men in the winter and 100 during the summer. The Meadville and Linesville Railroad transported 100,000 tons annually from Conneaut Lake.

The business flourished until the 1920's when electric refrigeration replaced blocks of ice. The last ice was harvested for the Conneaut Lake Ice Company in 1929.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Railroads & Streetcars. A significant historical year for this entry is 1880.

Location. 41°

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36.201′ N, 80° 18.044′ W. Marker is near Conneaut Lake, Pennsylvania, in Crawford County. It is in Sadsbury Township. It can be reached from Grand Army of Republic Highway (U.S. 6). This marker and 2 others are located in Ice House Park in Conneaut Lake Borough. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 85 Water St, Conneaut Lake PA 16316, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Northwestern Pennsylvania

and in Greater Erie. It is also in the American Northeast,

in the 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 the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy

and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 7 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: The Railroads (within shouting distance of this marker); Geology (within shouting distance of this marker); To the Memory of the Brave (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); This Tablet (about 600 feet away); This Carousel (approx. 2.3 miles away); Erie Extension Canal (approx. 4.3 miles away); a different marker also named Erie Extension Canal (approx. 5.1 miles away); French Creek Feeder (approx. 6.8 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Conneaut Lake.

Other markers no longer nearby. Conneaut Reservoir (was approx. half a mile away but has been confirmed missing); Blue Streak (was approx. 2.3 miles away but has been confirmed missing).

Photographed by Mike Wintermantel, June 20, 2014

2. The Ice Industry and the Ice Houses Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on June 20, 2014, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 1,176 times since then and 46 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on June 20, 2014, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.