The Last, Best Ice

where he found ready buyers. Maine's ice export industry grew slowly at first. Rufus Page, a shipbuilder and shipowner, built an ice house on the banks of the Kennebec in Richmond sometime before the Civil War-capacity, a tiny 1,500tons-but the bulk of the U.S. ice exports were shipped from the Hudson River. Maine's industry took off in 1860 when the Hudson crop failed. Within a few years, huge ice houses sprouted on the banks of the Kennebec from Augusta to Richmond. More than a million tons annually were harvested during the glory years between 1870and 1900.The peak year was 1893, when three millions tons were shipped. Employment peaked at 25,000 men and 1,000 horses. The industry's importance to the state's economy was acknowledged when the state house was remodeled in 1890.A stained glass figure of an ice cutter at work was installed in the senate ast chamber. The glory years ended swiftly when an 1899 industry consolidation resulted in a concentration of the industry on the Hudson River. By 1901 there was no ice cut for export on the Kennebec. In another state house remodeling, in 1910,the stained glass ice cutter was removed.

The only real native ice cubes presently available. The demise did not affect of the export the smaller industry scattered By Scott Andrews local ice ice from cutters. Season small ponds like after season, Clark's Pond ~ ••• '. hen the last blocks of ice were every community had someone who in South Portland, not far from the mall cut from Thompson Pond in cut ice from a pond in midwinter, of the same name, was harvested and South Bristol in 1983, the stored it and distributed it through the stored as before in small local ice papers noted the event as the year. Everyhousehold had its insulated houses. After World War II, only the end of Maine's 150-plus-year~ wooden icebox which was filled once fishing industry remained as a client. old ice harvesting industry. When the or twice a week. Ice was delivered by All along the coast, lobsters were last block of ice was sold to a fish- horse wagon traveling door to door shipped and sold in ice and seaweed erman later that year, it was the first almost until World War II. until this system was replaced by stortime since 1826that thevenerable little Some families saved money by age tanks in the 1960s.Today's market Thompson Ice House, now nearly col- purchasing a seasonal supply of ice is mostly in offshore fishing. Boats lapsing after dozens of years of ne- and storing it in tiny backyard ice bound for the offshore fisheries carry glect, stood empty. houses. Falmouth's Edith Tucker re- holds full of crushed ice to refrigerate Yet only a few years since that calls her family using a small house their catch until landed, and ice is still abandonment, the Thompson Ice dug into the side of a hillside in used to keep the product fresh through House was back in operation, the Camden through World War II. the display case. result of a $100,000 effort by a group Ice exports began by accident. In When commercial operation of dedicated to preserving this last tiny 1820 William Bradstreet's schooner Thompson Ice House ceased in 1983,a vestige of Maine's once-bustling ice Orion was frozen into the ice up the group of concerned citizens, led by industry. Kennebec River near Pittson. That Mrs. Erica Mather Welter of DamarisNatural ice was the only widespread spring the enterprising shipowner cotta, determined to preserve the rammethod of refrigeration until the turned misfortune around by loading shackle building as a museum for advent of mechanical refrigeration in the ship's hold with ice cakes, break- Maine's ice industry. The group formed the early part of this century. Nearly ing free, and sailing to Baltimore- . Continued on page 48

BUCKSPORT, U.S.A

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