July 4 – 10, 2025Vol. 27, No. 4

Ice Harvesting

by Dianne Dowd

On a beautiful day this past February, Tom and I traveled to Thompson Ice House Museum in South Bristol to witness an old-fashioned ice harvest. Ever since I discovered some advertisements for an ice business in the attic of our old farmhouse, I have wanted to see a traditional ice harvest. Although most of the icehouses have long disappeared; the Thompson Ice House Museum is a working museum dedicated to the methods of traditional ice harvesting.

Ice was such an important commodity before the invention and everyday use of refrigeration. The ice on a pond or a river was cleared of snow and huge cakes of ice were cut with special tools and then stored in an icehouse. The icehouse was insulated with thick walls filled with sawdust. The ice cakes were stacked in the icehouse and covered with more sawdust.

Some folks may remember Dalton Ice Company here in Belgrade. It was located on the shore of Great Pond where the Center for All Seasons is today. The Dalton Lumber Company was located at the same place. Having a ready supply of sawdust, helped make Dalton Ice Company successful. There was a huge demand for ice delivery in the summer months. The Belgrade Hotel alone required 1,600 pounds of ice delivered daily. In addition, many of the housekeeping and youth camps needed ice delivered regularly. Dalton Ice Company closed not long after the Belgrade Hotel burned in 1956.

The Belgrade Historical Society has a nice display of ice harvesting tools at the Old Town Meeting House. Check out our display at our Open Houses, Thursday, July 10, 9:00 — 12:00 or Thursday, July 24, 1:00 — 4:00. For more information on the Thompson Ice House Museum, visit its website, and be sure to check out their wonderful YouTube presentations of traditional ice cutting.