Year: 1868

One Of our former citizens is now extensive
ly engaged in getting ice at Biddeford, Me-, to
ship South during the Summer. We take
the following extract from the Maine Demo-
crat concerning his operations:


Mr.. j. E. Black, of Delaware, gentleman
of great experience in the business, after hav-
ing spent much time in examining various To-
calities came to the conclusion thatno ice could
be obtained in the country which would sur
pass that of the SacO River in purely or val
ue, and wisely for himself, and happily for our
community has made extensive preparations to
secure large crop this winter. He has built
four houses on the lower end of Factory Is
land, in Saco, at the head of tide water. These
houses are each about 240 feet long, 40 feet
wide, with SO feet posts, and will contain 3d.
600 tons of ice. The ice in the river at
this time is about eighteen inches thick, and
to fill these houses twenty-five to thirty acres
of ice of this thickness will be required. The
ice is taken half mile or so from the houses
in which it is finally stored. 1t is cut into
blocks about forty-four inches long by twenty
two inches wide, and foated in a channel or
canal kept open for that purpose to HObson's
Mills, where it is taken over the dam by means
of slip running from the water to the top of
the dam, the blocks being drawn up three or





or shute runs from the top of the dam to
the river below, and down this plane the blocks
slide without help until they reach another ca
nal along which they are foated until they
reach the dam below Cataract bridge, where
the river falls some thirty or forty feet to tide
water. And here it is that the work of trans
porting the ice from the river to the ice-houses
is done.


The Ice Houses are nearly quarter of mile
from the dam, and to deposit the ice in them has
required no little amount ofengineering skill, to
say nothing about the outlay of a large
amount of money. Mr.. Black, however, has
been equal to the task, and has apparently
overcome obstacles which many have consider
ed insurmountable.


Near the brinF of the Cataract falls, the
South bank of the river rises abruptly some
fifteen feet higher than the dam. From the
terminus Of the canal at this point, an elevator
has been constructed, reaching to the top of
the bank. This elevator consists of an endless
band about four feet in width, constructed of
cable chains with strong connecting rods, and
is not dissimilar in its nature to the tread "
of threshing machine, or the elevators in use
for carrying grain in the Touring mills 1t
runs up the hill at an incline of about 45 de-
grees, and is operated by fifteen horse power
engine, located on the island near the dam.
The elevator band or belt has, at short distan-
ces, raised cross bars, corresponding with the
buckets of a grain or flour elevator. The
lower end of this band or belt is under water
in the canal, and it is operated by the engine,
the blocks of ice are foated along until they
come in contact with it when they are caught
by the cross bars, or buckets and carried to
the top, distance of some ninety feet From
the top of the elevator double track raised
on trestle-wOrk, in some places twenty or thirty
feet, and following the course of the river has
been erected, extending to the ice houses,
distance of nearly or quite third of mile.
Along these tracks the blocks of ice slide with
out assistance to their final destination, at the
ice houses, which are so situated that FIVE ves-
sells of four hundred tons each can be loaded
at the same time.


Mr.. Black has in his employ about $50 men,
and he deserves the thanks of this community
for the money he is expendiug here, in this
dullest part of dull season. We hope that
his enterprise will be crowned with success,
and that he will continue his operations from
year to year, and make himself the fortune
which his enterprise merits.