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In the days before mechanical refrigeration, the ice on rivers and ponds was a crop. When January rolled around and the ice was ready, it was time to harvest. Ice harvested from rivers, lakes and ponds served many purposes during the 19th and early 20th centuries for both industries and homes.
Ice Plow #98815
Donor: Lloyd McFarlane
Large ice plows were pulled by horses to cut deep grooves into the surface of a frozen pond. Usually, one man walked beside the horse to keep it going in a straight line. A second man followed behind the horse and held the handles of the plow.
The front cutting edge of each saw made a cut about 1/4” deep in the ice. Each cutting edge that followed cut the ice another 1/4”. If a saw had eight cutting edges it would cut a total of 2” each time it passed.
Ice cutting was a dangerous activity. Plows were used to cut through about 2/3 of the thickness of the ice. If the ice was cut too deeply it might break, and the horse and men would fall into the pond.
Ice Saw #985121
Donor: Carl Bettle
A pond ice saw is very long because it needs to cut through ice that might be 18 inches thick. A good ice cutter would pull the saw almost out of the ice then lean far over to push the saw handles almost to the surface of the pond.
The ice blocks were pulled out of the water and placed on a sleigh to be hauled to the icehouse, where they were packed in sawdust. The ice would last all summer.
Ice Tongs #98751'
Donor: Carl Bettle
These large ice tongs are hinged in the middle with curved sharp points at either end. They were used to move ice to and from the storage sheds to homes and businesses.
This video shows these tools and others being used in an ice cutting demonstration -
See Tools for Harvesting the Ice and Ice Harvesting the Old-Fashioned Way for more information.
Do you have an ice cutting story? Please share it with us.