Tourism and the ice business in 1890

Robust tourism in the Adirondack region in 1890 created strong demand for the ice trade, but foreign and out-of-state competition was putting a chill on ice prices.

“The Lake George hotels are steadily filling up with guests,” The Glen’s Falls Messenger reported on July 4, 1890.

“All the Saratoga hotel properties say that their business thus far this season has been better than normal.”

Despite strong demand, “a glut” of ice shipped in from Norway and Maine had deflated prices to the point that at least one regional ice dealer suspended operations for the rest of the season, a development that affected the local freight industry.

“There is quietness in the ice business that is not relished by the boatmen,” the Messenger reported. “Last week the men employed by Knickerbocker Ice Company received orders to stop shipping. Most of the men were told that their services were no longer needed.”