| UPPER PETTIBONE LAKE ICE HOUSES |
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Clara Mae Beach, Our Highland Heritage, pages 254-255, notes that F. S. Hubbell of Milford had begun harvesting ice on Upper Pettibone Lake by 1904. As can be seen in this photo, horses were used to pull large saws across the frozen lake, scoring the ice into blocks. These were then pried loose and floated along a channel of open water to a conveyor system (visible behind the horse on left) which lifted the blocks from the lake and transported them to the ice houses for storage. There were seven of these large, barn-like structures built side by side, each measuring 40 by 120 feet inside, with hollow double walls filled with sawdust and/or straw as insulation. Each reportedly held 1,884 tons of ice, for a total capacity of over 13,000 tons. To the right of the ice houses can be seen the two-story dormitory which housed many of the the seasonal employees. Its upper story held bunked beds that could sleep 90 men, while the lower story contained a kitchen, sitting room, large dining room and office.
