Way before the day of refrigeration, in colder climates ice was harvested, whether from a stream, pond or lake. Though by the 1920s, the practice slowly began to fade away. Locally, ice was harvested from the Susan River, and two focal points were the Bremner dam in the Susan River canyon and the other at Dawson dam near Johnstonville that provided power for the Lassen Flour Mill. Roy Sifford, born in 1893 and raised in Susanville, recounts in his memoirs that in 1910: “I hauled ice from the ponds at Johnstonville to the stores and bars in Susanville–$2.00 a load delivered. In twelve hours I could haul four loads receiving $8.00 a day, paid in cash!”
Tim~~~~Thanks for the dandy photo’s~~~I can remember going with my Dad to pick up blocks of ice….The place was located on Richmond road, next to the railroad tracks…..
daryl
Great photos, and an interesting part of history of the region. I grew up in Johnstonville, but never heard of the ice harvesting on the river.
There is an Ice House on my ranch. I don’t know another left here in the valley. I would think ice would have been harvested out of Baxter Creek or Parker Creek. There used to be a reservoir on the old Hoffman Ranch.