Inscription
The Ice Lakes
Until the mid-1920s, the Buena Vista Ice Company of Germantown (now Cascade), Maryland, was located on this site for the harvesting of natural ice used to preserve produce and dairy products during shipment. It was one of its kind on the East Coast.From December to February, the ice in the center of the lake was measured daily. When it reached a thickness of at least eight inches, a loud steam whistle summoned workers from the mountain.
Through snow drifts and over ice-rutted dirt roads, 50 to 100 hardy men cane to the lake. They worked from dawn to dusk for $1.35 to $1,75 a day. The ice was stored in eleven wooden ice houses, each capable of holding 32,000 pounds of ice for up to three years.
In 1926, the Maryland National Guard selected this area for the building of a summer training camp (Camp Albert C. Richie) and the Buena Vista Ice Company passed into the pages of local history.
Pictures
Photo Credits: [1] DOUGLAS MOWEN
Locationbig map
| UTM (WGS84 Datum) | 18S E 286116 N 4398471 |
|---|---|
| Decimal Degrees | 39.70931667, -77.49498333 |
| Degrees and Decimal Minutes | N 39° 42.559', W 77° 29.699' |
| Degrees, Minutes and Seconds | 39° 42' 33.54" N, 77° 29' 41.94" W |
| Driving Directions | Google Maps |
| Area Code(s) | 301, 240 |
| Can be seen from road? | No |
| Is marker in the median? | No |
| Which side of the road? | Marker is on the right when traveling South |
| Closest Postal Address | At or near 14324 Lake Royer Dr, Highfield-Cascade MD 21719, US |
| Alternative Maps | Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap |
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Show me all markers in: Highfield-Cascade, MD | Washington County | 21719 | Maryland | United States of America
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