Ice Harvesting on Odell’s Lake

There was a special art to cutting this ice. Straight lines were cut on the ice by a horse-pulled plow that had teeth like a skate. Each tooth dug in 1/4 inch. From year to year, the ice would vary in thickness depending on how cold the winter had been; so the plows came in several sizes, each designed for a particular thickness of ice, and each leaving four inches of ice uncut underneath for protection. The plow went both directions to cut the ice into squares or rectangles.

Conveyor Into Lakeville Ice Storage House

The icehouses were built at the water’s edge and elevators and conveyors carried the ice blocks inside. Icehouses were very specially built to preserve a great deal of ice throughout the year. At Lakeville the wooden icehouse was built in the 1870’s and operated by the John Rush family. The building was 100 by 225 feet and forty feet high, and the floor and side walls of the icehouse were insulated with ten inches of sawdust. In addition, three feet of rye grass or hay would be placed on top between the top row of ice and the ceiling.