In the days before refrigeration and electricity, the early settlers cut blocks of ice from the closest water way and stored them in a building used solely for this purpose. Layers of straw or sawdust  were placed between the blocks to prevent them from sticking together and to insulate them over the summer months. People at that time had refrigeration called an ice box, where they kept food cold by placing one of these ice blocks in one section and the food in the rest of the available area. 

The method used to obtain the ice was to cute ice blocks from the fall's pond or from the creek and move it on a conveyer belt to the ice house. (As you came down the trail from the parking lot, the pond was on your left and the ice house foundation on your right.) Ice blocks were purchased by residents all summer as the one in their ice box melted. It was necessary to place a pan under the ice box to catch the melting ice and to replace the ice blocks at least twice a week. An ice card was placed in the window of every home indicating how many pounds of ice were needed for each delivery.