Ice Harvesting

Archive

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Saugatuck Douglas Historical Society

Name/Title

Ice Harvesting

Entry/Object ID

2021.87.26

Scope and Content

The Local Observer newspaper Remembering When - Our History article titled "Ice Harvesting" LO24 July 6, 2005. By Jack Sheridan and Jim Schmiechen. Digital files use to create this article and associated resources at 2021.72.02

Context

ICE HARVESTING Being born just after the good old days ended, I don’t remember much about my grandmother’s ice box. However, reviewing the history of the subject makes me cooler this hot July! Ice was not made but “harvested” in the good old days. And there is no doubt that ice was big business and very important to everyday life – especially in the heat of the summer. Being close to water and cold air were important to the ice business and being close to good source of sawdust was even more important. Saugatuck and Douglas had an abundance of all three. Before “global warming” river ice was usually a foot thick in early January. It was then time to get the crew together and fill up the old ice house. The hollow walls of the house were loosely filled with sawdust to provide insulation – remember the ice blocks (at least those toward the bottom) had to last a year! Any snow was cleared from the harvest area and grid lines were etched on the ice. Cutting of the blocks commenced with the use of a special long tooth hand saw (in later years a gasoline-engine-powered saw was used). The blocks were floated and pushed with pikes to a ramp that could be moved up or down depending upon the level of storage in the ice house. The 100-pound blocks were pulled up the ramp by an endless chain-powered-by-animal or steam- power to a point where gravity took over and the blocks slid to a spot inside the house. As each layer was laid down a coating of sawdust was spread to keep the blocks from sticking together. A number of ice houses existed along the river beginning with the first said to have been owned by William G. Butler. The Goshorns had one at Goshorn Lake and they hauled their sawdust from Singapore. The Shriver Brothers had two buildings in front of the Riverside Hotel at the Old Harbor -- the little buildings have been erroneously called “fish shanties” -- but they were in reality ice houses. In Saugatuck, houses were located between Mason and Hoffman and there was Eaton’s Ice House (the building later became the Buerle Hotel and then the Blue Tempo) which stood where Coghlin Park is today. The Morgan ice house was located in Douglas at the east end of Center Street. Today I cringe when realizing that a good deal of river water found its way into the digestive system of ice consumers -- but few seemed to worry about the health hazards of the product. The accepted opinion was that anything bad in the water had been frozen to death in the process … Hmmm? By Jack Sheridan

Collection

Remembering When

Cataloged By

Winthers, Sally

Acquisition

Accession

2021.87

Source or Donor

Sheridan, John "Jack" O. 1938-

Acquisition Method

Donation

Lexicon

Search Terms

Oxbow

Location

* Untyped Location

Digital data in CatalogIt

Relationships

Related Person or Organization

Person or Organization

Blue Tempo/349 Culver/Ed-Mar/Louis Beuerle Hotel ?-1976, Shriver's Bend, Morgan Ice Company, Coghlin Park

Related Places

Place

* Untyped Place

Goshorn Lake

City

Singapore, Michigan 1837-1875

Related Publications

Publication

Local Observer

Create Date

December 3, 2021

Update Date

July 26, 2025