New-York daily tribune., 1858-11-16
FL sg7 ,oo eSSa Ies s7J4 200


Every county OF Massachusetts, contains several
beautiful sheets Of water from which ice may pe saih
cred AT .hor. distance. from Boston there are scoce
or more ponds Of considerable size, from which are
yearly obtained the vast quantities Of ice used n that
citv and exported from il. Ii these were at greater
distances in the interior there would be additional cost
for bringing their ice into the city the wharvss
for shipment, which would enhance its retail prce and
diminish its consumption As matters are, tine trans
por.a;on Of ice to the seabosrd from the towns where
il s row obtained forms of the largest items IN the
busiress Of some Of the railroads entering Bostcn.
Tie County Of MdileseS has much the largest share
Of the ice business Of the State is evident from tho
preceding imperfect table for 1855. The returns for
1850 show that the yaue Of the ice obtained in Middle
SEX as an article of merchandise" was s ,D0 but
this did not cover ore-halt the value of what WIS
that year gathered in the county, even Il we suppose
that the merchandise ice was all returned, which
probably was not the ca.e, for the amount col
ec.ed for private use was certainly not ies. than
that exported In 1853 several more ponds and
streams were operated on than there were three
years before; and from these new sources there was
taken in ls53 larger amount of ice than, according
TO the returns, formed the entire Mddesex crop OF
1850. The county cou,eins with the exception OF
W
which ice taken in Massachusetts, for eEportation
These We will ennmerae and briefly describe. Tic
most noted are Fresh and Spy Ponds land with these,
adjoining tie latter il Little Pond, which cover m
area Of about 2NO acres. Until about lsi67 the ice
used in the Boston trade was almost wholly cay nne
telt- taken from tlese ponds and mainly transported
from their houses to Charlestown aud Boston on the
Fitchburg Railroad, which passes midway between
them anl the branches constructed from Il to them.
Fresh Pond, the most important, is about five miles
noth-wes. from the State House in Boston, and half
mile from Mount Auburn Cemetery. II is pleasantly
lestled among hills of moderate hight, and lies within
the limits Of Cambridge, Watertown and West Cam
bridge about one tnrd in each II is of the prin.
cpal resorts around Boston all seasons the route 10
i being one of the most attractive drives in the ctys
suburbs. In Summer, boating and fishing are the chief
amusemclts. From a description Of the scene at this
pond at the tine of gathering ice, written IN lsJJ we
condense the following:
"On pleasant afternoon of a Winters day. hun
dreds Of seighs may be found there hled with we'll
dressed persous Of both sexes fun of life, on The qii
yye TO witness the wonderful operations before them.
VI they are making their first winter visit, the sights
before them are strange ndeedthe -ilvery pond glar-
irg under the obhque rays ct the sun; the dark blue
wate' from which the ice has already been removed;
the curious and huge buildings that fringe It's shores,
the hundreds CfabOrers with OF horses that a-
most darken the pond; the methods Of removing the
snow AID snowice; of cutting the marketable solid on
floating it through narrow canals, and OF storing II by
Steam power. AL these operations fill the crowds u.
spectators with admiration and they feel paid If they
have made journey of thirty miles merely to witness
them. Ii is quite common to cut and, by stehn-po~ef
h0nsc two tups minute and this is ony moderate
rate; and when Il sufficient force is at work together
six hundred tuns often stored III single hour
When there several parties on single pond, erch
ayug lee at this rate the scene cannot bnt De ex
citing.
Spy Pond, in West Cambridge, is a mile n. y. W.
from Fresh Pond and is somewhat smaller than that.
About q mile north OF Spy Pond is the southern end
Of Mystic Pond, or Medford Lake, which stretcle.
northward for u mile so, and lies partly in West
Cambridge, Medford and Winchester. HON Pond, in
Woburn, one and hall mile north from Mystic Pond,
j. surrounded by eyergeens, and is remark able tor
it, beauty rs to attract many visitors from distance
Souliegan Lake, or Reading Pond, in South Reading,
eleven miles north Of Boston, is large and beautiful,
and the source of Ssneus River. Spot Pond in Stone
ham eight miles north of Boston, is beautiful sheet
of soft and pure water. Ii covers Of 2S'
acres. and is li3 fe.t above higii-water mark at
Boston. Beside these, Eel, or Long Pond, in
M,lroec, formerly north part of Maiden; Malden's
Pond and Asab-t River in Concord Sandy Pond, in
Grotor; Mil Pond in Townsend all noted for their
Ice crops and there are several others though yet
less celebrated places.
Menham Lake, in Essex County, was fcr consid.
able period of much celebrity for - lee, resulting from
H. having been used for export London, and having
received the special appreciation IF Queen We
toria II is otherwise called EHoH Pond and
ce.ved til. name about 1886, from the circuin-
stance that the irst sermon in the tosn was then
preached its bords by the celebrated Hugh Peters
iinister Of Salem, from the text AT Enon, near Sa-
lem because there was much water there" John
ill.,, 3D.. II Is about mile square, and is probably
the most beautiful pond in the county, presenting an
exceedingly romantic appearance. IL is s1 miles north
OF Salem and twenty from Boston. In the town Of
Salem there are three pretty ponds, one of which,
Spring Pond the border Of Lynn, has surface OF
t0 acres.
But We have not space to notice severslly all the
valuable sources whence ice is obtained IN large guam
titles around Boston. Silver Lake, Plympton, in
Plymouth County, is one Of these. Jamsiea Pond,
which formerly supplied Boston with water, is another
and from which C GOO to II CGG gns Of ice gathered
yearly to supply Roxbury, Brookline, &c.
During the last ten years the aggregse storage en-
pacv az the ice-houses n, the ponds IN the vicinity OF
Boston has been than doubled. In 1917 the total
exclusive of the ice houses on the wharyes ot Charles
and Last Boston In which ice is stored for short
periods amounted to LII 49, taRs. Of which at trsh
Pond S6,132 tuns; al Spy Poad -s,Oe0; Little Pond,
2,.00; Wenham Pond, l3,0G0; heiiori Pond, i,"V;
Horn Pond, i,c0o Eel Pond, o,0C0 and .t SamnerS
Pond 2o0 In lStS the total was l59 900 tuns show
ing an increase in year Of II lS tuns ol WAleh az
Fresh Pond, ., ,22s tuns at Spy Pond, 3Ooo; silver
Leke, Plympton, 5000: NJ at Souhegan Lake, South
ReaAng, oCe. III 1851 the total capacity was 5vV,'
eco tunsi aad t5en has since beer some inerease.