BETA
Chapter 1
Harvesting the frozen ponds of New England
Chapter 2
The struggle to ship ice to the tropics
Chapter 3
Ice around the world
Chapter 4
The legacy and the demise of natural ice
Ch 1 · Harvesting the frozen ponds of New England
hank Play The Little Ice King game to experience how Frederic Tudor harvested frozen New England ponds and shipped ice to the world.
hank New England Ice Harvesting
Shipping New England's frozen lakes away, to put some ice in a glass in Bombay!
hank See how workers harvested frozen ponds in this infographic detailing the grueling labor behind Frederic Tudor's historic ice trade.
Fun Fact
Walden Pond ice: Philosopher Henry David Thoreau watched Tudor's crew harvest 10,000 tons of ice from Walden Pond in 1846, writing that the pond's water was traveling to India.
hank Explore the design of the horse-drawn ice plow, the key invention that allowed Frederic Tudor to harvest and export pond ice globally.
Glossary
ice plow (noun)
A tool equipped with blades used to cut ice on frozen bodies of water. In 1825, Nathaniel Wyeth invented this horse-drawn device to cut blocks on Frederic Tudor's Massachusetts ponds.
A tool equipped with blades used to cut ice on frozen bodies of water. In 1825, Nathaniel Wyeth invented this horse-drawn device to cut blocks on Frederic Tudor's Massachusetts ponds.
Quiz
Before Nathaniel Wyeth's 1825 invention, how much did it cost to harvest a ton of natural winter ice?
Quiz
In 1825, inventor Nathaniel Wyeth revolutionized the ice industry by designing which horse-drawn tool?
Quiz
Which Massachusetts body of water, also famous for Henry David Thoreau's writing, was a major source of Frederic Tudor's harvested ice?
Quiz
Which material did ice harvesters use to insulate the walls of early 19th-century icehouses?
Quiz
What was the primary role of 'ice pikes' during the winter harvest on New England ponds?