About Us
A NOD TO YESTERYEAR
In 1897, Francis Walterlin and John Martin began an ice harvesting industry on the Menomonee River. The ice trade, also known as the frozen water trade, was a 19th-century and early-20th-century industry, involving the large-scale harvesting, transport and sale of natural ice for domestic consumption and commercial purposes.
Ice was cut from the surface of ponds and streams, then stored in ice houses being shipped by barge or railroad. The ice trade revolutionized the U.S. meat, vegetable and fruit industries and encouraged the introduction of a range of new drinks and foods.