Picture Tolland: The Ice Man Cometh ... Before Refrigerators

TOLLAND, CT — The latest installment of the Picture Tolland series takes us back to the days before electric refrigerators were in wide use.

So how did most of Tolland keep things cold?

According to the notebook of the renowned town historian, the late Barbara Cook, ice in large quantities came from from Ludwig's ice house on Mountain Spring Road.

Ice was cut from local ponds and Shenipsit Lake and stored in the ice house, her notes tell us. The ice then went out into the open market for domestic use in home iceboxes, according to the historical archives.

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Picture Tolland is a periodic series featuring images of the town, past and present.