This photograph shows the Springfield ice house facing Lake Massasoit according to the backside of the image. There is a pile of ice in front of the house. The front side of the ice house was approximately at the location of the President's House. Ice harvesting on the pond was a large industry for many decades.
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The Springfield Ice Company was formed in 1858, and maintained ice houses on the shores of what is now Lake Massasoit. Two large stables were built along the shoreline to house 60 to 80 horses. These horses, along with wagons, were used for ice harvesting up until the early 1930’s, in which trucks took over to make all of the deliveries. Cutting the ice on the pond also ended at this time, as the building of an ice house took place to manufacture ice. The other pictures can be seen here: http://cdm16122.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15370coll2/id/9362 , http://cdm16122.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15370coll2/id/9359 , http://cdm16122.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15370coll2/id/9356 , http://cdm16122.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15370coll2/id/9375 ,
