January 1, 1840 – January 1, 1849

Booming Ice Industry in the Winter- Arlington, Massachusetts

Beginning in the 1840s, Spy Pond in Arlington became a popular destination for ice cutting in the wintertime. Many icehouses began to be built surrounding the pond. During the 1840s, the group Gage, Hittenger & Co. began to make great strides in their ice-cutting business. The ice that was being cut from Spy Pond was being sent all over the world and started causing the ice business in Arlington to boom. It was said that "the Spy Pond ice went all over the world- to the southern states of our country, to the East and West Indies, to China, to India, to South America, even to Australia". (Hurd, 198) This booming ice business was crucial for the residents of Arlington and the Greater Boston area because the 1840s was a time before everyone had a refrigerator and freezer. Ice would have been used as a way of keeping food or milk from going bad, similar to how a refrigerator is used today. The fact that the residents of Arlington had this business in their town gave them the ability to always have access to ice. The ice business at Spy Pond was overall very beneficial for Arlington, MA. It is great to see that people were using the resources around them, such as a giant frozen pond, to make ends meet while also benefitting the town, in the 1840s.

60 Pond Lane, Arlington, MA 02474

Spy Pond Ice Harvesting 1854- commons.wikimedia.org

Tim Mazzei