When did people stop using ice boxes?

By the late 1930s, iceboxes were being replaced with electric refrigerators. Lower income families continued to use their ice boxes well into the 1940s.

How long were iceboxes used?

The more traditional icebox dates back to the days of ice harvesting, which had hit an industrial high that ran from the mid-19th century until the 1930s, when the refrigerator was introduced into the home.

How long did ice last in an icebox?

Iceboxes were commonly found in homes. Similar to our modern day refrigerators, these ice and food storage devices acted as coolers. Of course the insulation was less sophisticated than what's available today, and even large blocks of ice typically only lasted for one day.

What year were ice boxes used?

The earliest devices initially became available in the 1910s, but it wasn't until the late 20s that the technology became honed enough to offer an affordable, dependable means of in-home electric refrigeration.

How did they keep ice in the 1800's?

The ice was kept cold by insulating it with straw and sawdust and stored in warehouses until it was time to be used. People cut ice from lakes using hand saws. Eventually they started using horse drawn machinery to cut ice, but it was still hard and dangerous work.

How people kept stuff cold before refrigerators

How did people get ice 100 years ago?

Ice was methodically harvested from lakes and ponds and cut into bricks for transportation. "Filling the Ice House," 1934, by Harry Gottlieb. Smithsonian American Art Museum, transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor. The natural ice harvesting industry in America began to take off in the early 1800s.

When did refrigerators replace ice boxes?

By the late 1930s, iceboxes were being replaced with electric refrigerators. Lower income families continued to use their ice boxes well into the 1940s.

How did they keep food cold in the 1700s?

Community cooling houses were an integral part of many villages to keep meat, fruit and vegetables stored. At various points in time ice houses were built often underground or as insulated buildings – these were used to store ice and snow sourced during winter, to keep foods cold during the warmer months.

How did they store ice in the 1700s?

An ice house, or icehouse, is a building used to store ice throughout the year, commonly used prior to the invention of the refrigerator. Some were underground chambers, usually man-made, close to natural sources of winter ice such as freshwater lakes, but many were buildings with various types of insulation.

What did people do before the ice box?

Wealthier households built large ice-pits in the ground topped with thick-walled ice houses. Ice and insulating straw or sawdust were packed in the pit in the winter to store the ice for warmer months.

How did people keep ice in the old days?

For millennia, those rich enough got servants to gather snow and ice formed during the winter and stored it in straw-lined underground pits called 'ice houses'.

How much did ice cost in the 1800s?

Moreover, it stated, shipping ice cost an average of $2.00 per ton in 1847. In Havana that same year, ice sold for 6 ¼ cents per pound with 1,112 tons consumed, New Orleans' price was set at 3 cents per pound – 28,000 tons, while Boston used 27,000 tons, with an average price of 13. 5 cents per hundred pounds.

How were ice houses kept cold in the 1800s?

An ice house is a building designed to store blocks of ice. Before electricity, the only way to access ice was to cut it from ponds and lakes during the winter, and to store it in ice houses to keep the ice frozen through the spring and summer. An ice house's system of vents, drains, and insulation kept ice cold.

How did they keep ice before electricity?

People would take this ice, pack it together as densely as possible to insulate it from the heat, then store it in ice houses: subterranean structures that kept it dark and cool.

When did humans start storing ice?

We know that as far back as the Bronze Age (roughly 1750 B.C.E) the Akkadian people of the Euphrates River built large 'ice houses' for storing ice that they collected from the snowy mountains. They recorded on stone tablets that this ice was used during the summer months to drink.

Did they have fridges in the 20s?

In 1920, GE began using a hermetically sealed compressor. The “General Electric Refrigerator” was announced in 1925. The company decided to sell the refrigerator as a whole unit, rather than trying to retrofit iceboxes. Later, GE came out with the “Monitor Top,” which sold well.

How did ancient Chinese Store ice?

Where did they keep ice to prevent it from melting in the summer heat? During the Warring States Period (475–221 BC), ice was kept in a device called “冰鉴(bīng hàn),” which was made of copper and later rosewood.

How did ancient China get ice?

According to the record in the Confucian classic Zhou Rites, the Zhou royal court had a specialized department called the "ice administration" which had 80 employees. The department collected natural ice blocks each December, and then transported them to the ice house for storage.

How did Victorians keep ice?

Keeping cool

The Victorians didn't have access to electric freezers or ice cream machines. Instead they would have collected ice from rivers and ponds in the winter, and stored it in ice houses. Many large country houses had one, including Kenwood, Audley End House, Osborne and Battle Abbey.

How was food kept 300 years ago?

Storage Solutions

The most common and familiar include drying, salting, smoking, pickling, fermenting and chilling in natural refrigerators, like streams and underground pits.

How did people keep warm in winter in 1800?

People wore layered clothing made of wool, flannel, or fur. Typical winter outerwear included hooded capes, great coats, scarves, cloaks, shawls, scarves, muffs, gloves, mittens, thick socks, stockings, long wraps, caps, hats, and ear mufs.

How did medieval people refrigerate?

Freezing and Cooling

In castles and large homes with cellars, an underground room could be used to keep foods packed in winter ice through the cooler spring months and into the summer. In the long, frigid Scandinavian winters, an underground room wasn't necessary.

Why did old refrigerators last longer?

The appliances of days gone by were built for longevity. They were made using simple parts — and perhaps more importantly — parts that were fixable. In fact, appliances manufactured in the 1970s often last from 30 to 50 years.

How often was ice delivered for ice boxes?

In the U.S., ice was cut into 25-, 50- and 100-pound blocks (11, 23 and 45 kg) then distributed by horse-drawn ice wagons. An iceman, driving the cart, would then deliver the ice to the household, using ice tongs to hold the cubes. Deliveries could occur either daily or twice daily.

How does a vintage ice box work?

Iceboxes had hollow walls that were lined with tin or zinc and packed with various insulating materials such as cork, sawdust, straw or seaweed. A large block of ice was held in a tray or compartment near the top of the box. Cold air circulated down and around storage compartments in the lower section.