The commercial ice business began in the early 1800s. In winter, naturally formed ice was cut from lakes and ponds, stored in giant insulated ice warehouses, and distributed to customers. However, as population and urbanization increased, natural sources of ice became more polluted with sewage and other contaminants, making consuming natural ice dangerous. The natural ice trade was replaced by commercially produced ice during the early years of the 20th century. Blocks of purchased ice were delivered to homes and used to chill an “ice box” – the modern equivalent of a cooler.
Courtesy of Library of Congress.
This was very interesting to me, so I believe that it would be interesting to my students as well. Student could explore how our economy and daily lives change because of changes in technology.