THE BIG CHILL Railroads and the Zukey Lake Ice House Ice harvesting was the major winter activity Workers cutting ice on frozen Zukey Lake during the thriving ice industry, about 1900. Photo courtesy of the Hamburg Historical Society. in Hamburg Township for over thirty years. Until electrical refrigeration was invented in the late 1920s, food was best preserved during warmer months in “iceboxes” with ice blocks harvested from lakes during the winter. In 1890, a large commercial ice house was built on the north shore of Zukey Lake near the pair of railroad tracks that had just been built through Lakeland. Blocks of ice, cut from the frozen lake and stored in the building, were loaded on wagons or waiting trains. Zukey Lake ice kept rail shipments of food chilled and fresh as they were distributed throughout the region. Ice blocks were cut and handled with tools like the ice saw (far right) and ice tongs, in the collections of the Hamburg Historical Museum. At the back of the ice house, ice is loaded into train cars on a railroad spur. Ice blocks were packed in straw, burlap and sawdust to minimize melting. Photo courtesy of the Hamburg Historical Society. The ice house during summer. Between the lakeshore and railroad lines, it stood 40 feet tall, 44 feet deep and 300 feet long. Photo courtesy of the Hamburg Historical Society. The ice house occupied the lakeshore near the site of the present-day Zukey Lake Tavern. Toledo native George Schuller (often called "The Ice Man") built the Zukey Lake Ice House in 1890, choosing the lake site to harvest winter ice and to supply trains nearby. Photo courtesy of the Hamburg Historical Society. Ice from Zukey Lake (at left) being moved by conveyor into the ice house. Photo courtesy of the Hamburg Historical Society. This sign produced as a joint effort by the Hamburg Township Board of Trustees and the Hamburg Township Historical Society. Special thanks to Eagle Scout Nathan Hinkle whose 2008 project inspired this new sign.
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