Andrew H. Blair’s Ice House

The editor of the American Volunteer newspaper was so impressed after he visited Andrew Blair’s ice house that he wrote an article describing it in the January 4, 1872 edition of his newspaper.

“A Sight Worth Seeing--A day or so since, we visited the mammoth ice house of A. H. Blair, at the eastern end of town,¹ and found it pretty nearly filled. The building is constructed of boards, running around the four sides; and the space between the outer and inner framework is filled with charcoal, making it almost entirely air tight. The ice house holds 800 tons. The ice is obtained on Laurel dam, on the line of the South Mountain railroad, is shipped to Carlisle by cars, and hoisted into the house by horse power, and is without exception the finest ice we ever saw housed in this locality. It is sawed into solid blocks, five feet long and two and a half feet wide, and is uniformly from twelve to fifteen inches thick, and as clear as crystal. These blocks are packed in against each other, fitting as closely as a solid wall of masonry. Mr. Blair has purchased the large ice house of David Rhoads,² which he intends to fill before the freezing weather is over. Last summer was the first season he had his mammoth ice house in operation, and the consequence was an abundance of splendid ice, at lower figures than we have had for years.”

“Pure Laurel Ice. The subscriber having secured a large stock of the best quality ice, free from snow and all impurities, off of mountain streams, is now prepared to deliver it to customers at low rates. Orders left at either of the coal offices will receive prompt attention. A. H. Blair.”³ Carlisle Herald, July 11, 1872.