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The gathering of ice at Rockland Lake commenced in 1838,
and for some years about 600 tons were stored. Now the
Company houses, at that point, 80,000 tons annually. The
ice is taken from the houses at the lake by a railroad,
the cars of which are moved by a stationary power, to
the Hudson River, where it is loaded into barges to be
towed to New York, and into vessels for transportation
elsewhere. The Company owns a tonnage in barges and of
steam tugs of 20,000 tons, and has facilities at its depot
upon the river for handling and storing in vessels 1,000
tons per day. Besides the houses at Rockland Lake, the
same Company has other houses at various points upon the
Hudson, capable of storing 300,000 tons of ice. The capital
of the Company is $2,000,000.
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| Fig. 5 – The elevators. | |
Fig. 6 – Packing away the ice. |
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Next in importance to the Knickerbocker is the Washington
Ice Co., which has $1,000,000 of capital, and there are
several smaller companies which supply the cities and
towns near New York. It is estimated that these companies
together, give employment in the winter time, to between
4,000 and 6,000 men, and constant work to about half that
number.
Twenty-five years ago the hotels and other large consumers
in New York, paid $20 per ton for their ice. Now, owing
to the introduction of machinery, through the better understanding
of the business, and the competition between rival companies,
the price is reduced to $5 per ton to hotels, and others,
who consume large quantities of ice. The rates to families
are not considered much above this price, when the waste
of cutting into small pieces and cost of carting are taken
into account.
Excerpt from American Agriculturist, Vol. XXVIII, No.
12, December 1869
Editor's Note: This is a reprint of an article published in 1869. It describes what was recommended in accordance with the knowledge and practices of the day. While reading it, please consider this fact.
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