Diver finds ice company artifacts in lake

By Hattie Bernstein

Master diver Joe King has traveled the world to recover artifacts and piece together accounts of historic events.

But after hearing rumors several years ago about a railroad track under Lake Potanipo, he launched an investigation about five minutes from his home on Westview Road.

King didn’t find any tracks, but he did come upon the remains of the Fresh Pond Ice Co., which was established on the shores of the lake in 1890 and thrived until 1935, when it was destroyed by fire.

It’s a story King is eager to share and preserve for future generations who want to know about the state’s commercial ice-harvesting business and what was once advertised as the world’s largest ice house under one roof.

He uses old wooden tools scooped from the lake’s muddy bottom to tell the story that includes details about suppliers, manufacturing techniques, and the location and geometry of the canals used to float ice to the elevator where it was hoisted and stored.

One “incredible find,” he said, is a wooden tool engraved with the name “J. Hittinger.”

It’s a violation of state law to disturb an archeological site, King said, explaining why he declined to identify the exact location of the dig, which began in 2006.

Any insight into the Fresh Pond Ice Co. is valuable because the company’s records and all but one of its 13 buildings were destroyed in the fire, which some speculate was set deliberately, not long before refrigeration was to make the business obsolete.

Read more...

Posted via email from