Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1896-04-23
A COLD STORY.
DEVELOPMENT OF THE ICE BUSl-
NESS IN BURLINGTON.
Consumers Ice Company Keeping Pace
with tho Growth of the City-The Lat
est Machinery for Storing and Doiiv-
erinR the CONCEALED Moisture.

Just &c years ago this summer the first
ice was offered for sale in Burlington by
A. d i. s. Drew, having been put up
the preceding winter in the cellar of
tenement house on lower Maple street. The
latter part of this season the Consumers
Ice company will oxpend the sum of $4,000
in new Ice house and improved machin-
cry for putting up and handling the same.
The history of how the people of this
city have kept cool during hot weather
since the carly ice houses is one Of steady
growth with no especially interesting fea-
lures. In 1850 the first ice was offered for
sale by A. Il l.. S. Drew from n cellar on
the site of the present house Of the Con-
sumcrs leo company. Tho capacity of
this storage place was about 200 tons aud
the ice was delivered in open wagons and
charged for by the season and never by
the pound Tho cellar OF the first ice
house was IS feet in depth and has since
been filled up. During the same season L..
S. Drew sold out his interest to Amasa
Drew and in 1856 new house, lso of 200
tons capacity. waAadded to tho first one,
these two serving until 1864, when o. n.
Atwater was taken as n partner and the
firm became Drew e Atwatcr.
The new firm built in that year what Is
known as the east house, discarding both
of tho old ones. The new building held
about 500 tons of ice. Mr.. Atwater later
sold his interest in the business to n. r..
Conger, and Drew & Conger added another
building OF 500 tons capacity, they then
being able to store 1900 tons of ice. At
this time the ice was hoisted from the lake
with an old wellswcep one cake at a time,
IA costly and tedious business. In 1870
Drew e. Conger built house of 800 tons
capacity and in 1850 n house was built by
f. *. Converse on Maple street, having a
capacity of 1900 tons and In 1852 another
was added of 800 tons capacity.
| In 1885 Ferguson Bros. built house
holding 700 tons on Maple street, back OF
the present skating rink building and in
| 1856 they bought the buildings and bust
ness of +. *. Converse, uniting the two
| houses. In 1891 Ferguson Bros. and II. r..
| Congcr consolidated, forming the present
| Consumers Ice company. During that
year the company had every dollars worth
| of ice business done in the city, which
day the ice business does not exceed that
sum by more than 5000 or $500.
| The past year the demand for Ice was 50
much increased that the capacity of the
| houses was 500 tons short this amount be
| ing brought by boat from Malletts Bay
| This necessitated the putting up of more
| houses and the company have decided TO
| to take down the house on the Drew q
Conger property. which is in dilapdated
| condition, and will put up a commodious
! modern and improved ice house, designed
| from the houses on the Hudson river. The
dimensions will he 20 by 20 feet. 40 feet to
| tho rafters and feet to the caves with a
fiat roof of two feet elevation. This will
| be erected on the site OF the present ice
houses upon a solid wall, the studding &c
be 2la by inches and 40 feet long with a J.
| inch space for sawdust. The overlayers
| will be noored over and covered with saw
dust and the roof aud sides are to be GOV
cred with sheet iron roofing and siding
| on the under side of the rafters there vii
be a covering OF Cabots insulated anC
sheathing quilt, patent device for coun
| teractiny the heat of the sun, A hous'
constructed in this way requires no straw
| or sawdust and the ice will be delivered a!
| clean rs when taken from the water ans
| will require no washing or sweeping. This
house will be tho largest single ice house II
New England and will have a capacity O.
1000 tons
Arthur Clifford of Hudson, n. Y. was II
town last week. taking measurements 70,
| the necessary machinery. a plan has bee!
| devised to take the Ice from the lake. afteI
II is conveyed to the slip. through an un
derground tunnel three feet square b,
| means OF an endless chain elevator up u
an underground chamber where it will b'
| put upon carrier and taken to the re
quircd height in the building. The powe
|
horse power electric motor at the ic'
| house. An ice crusher will be added to thu
equipment for crushing the ice used b!
soda fountains and for ice cream freezer
In which good trade has been built up b.
the company Several interested parties
have asked the company to put in freeze
which is considered moro practicable THAI
cold storage, for the benefit of meat ant
grocery men. This project is under con
sderation The work on this new building
VIII be begun as soon as the old house
are empted of their contents and tn
house in the hollow will not be used 70
leo hereafter as tho cost Of Transporting
the ice there is too great. The chang
will give capacity of 1900 tons more thai
has been had in the past.
| Now comes another point Of especia
interest to the consumer. Manager A. c
Ferguson of the company states that thos
contemplating changes will lessen the cos
OF storage and of putting up of ice and i
this way make the retail price from fly
to ten per cent less.
The company are now negotiating for
five year contract to supply the Burlngto
Beef company with 100 tons OF ice per yea
and In case this Is procured the Ice wi
, taken to their refrigerators by the ma
chincry before described The last of tn
one horse wagons used in delivering wa
sold to S, W Parmenter of Montpelie
| Friday and hereafter none but two hors
wagons will be used.