Ice Men
Until the 19th century, ice fit for human consumption was scarce, hacked and sawn by hand, and available only locally in limited, highly prized quantities. Ancient cultures learned to harvest natural ice and, taking advantage of the weather, even to cause ice to form, storing the result in insulated pits and structures. Gentry in England and other European countries built thickly insulated icehouses set in the ground with channels to drain melt water. Colonists in New England, seeing Indians use caves, springs, and deep wells to retard food spoilage, did the same until they, too, erected icehouses in which to store ice cut from ubiquitous freshwater ponds left across the region by glaciers. Ice harvesting had to wait until deep winter froze fresh water to a depth of 14 to 16 inches, strong enough that crews with tools, horse teams, and sleds could work safely. In January and February, laborers or enslaved workers chopped away, producing uneven slabs. That awkwardness eased with the development of special ice saws, but freehand cutting still left blocks irregularly sized.
New World icehouses adhered to the English model: positioned to catch cooling winds, with plank floors set above a foot of drainage-ready sand to facilitate air circulation. Between icehouses’ inner and outer walls, roofs and ceilings, builders packed insulation: tanners bark—oak or hickoy bark used to finish leather—charcoal, sawdust, hay, straw, or wood shavings. Workers arranged blocks in tight stacks, insulating them between layers with sawdust or salt hay. “The best ice houses often had a shrinkage of ice
