Dublin Core
Title
Florence Ice and Coal Company/Central Ice Company
Subject
Industry
Description
Two separate ice and coal companies merged to create the Florence Ice and Coal Company. The first company was Chapin Ice and Coal Company. The second company was H.J. Moore Coal Company. Chapin, before the merger, boasted that the company could produce up to 25 tons of ice per day. In 1902, the two companies merged to create the largest manufacturer of ice and provider of coal in Florence. The water used for the manufacturing of the ice at Florence Ice and Coal was pumped from a pure spring in the Sweetwater area, fortunately, multiple springs existed in Sweetwater. The company owned its own purification plant to help clean the water from the mineral free spring. In addition to the purification plant, the company owned over a dozen horses to transport the heavy loads of ice to the people of Florence daily. How the workers of Florence Ice and Coal knew to replenish their customers with a fresh block of ice was a placard system instituted by the company and a set of four cards given to customers. The customers would have the option of 25, 50, 75, and 100 pound blocks of ice to be delivered to their ice boxes daily by the route runners of Florence Ice and Coal. The placards had to be upright to have any ice delivered to their home on a daily basis. After twenty-six years, Florence Ice and Coal Company became Central Ice Company, eliminating coal from their services.
Creator
Matthew C. Fesmire, University of North Alabama
Source
Text Sources:
McDonald, William Lindsey. "A Walk Through the Past: People and Places of Florence and Lauderdale County, Alabama." Killen, Ala., Bluewater Publications, 2003.
McDonald, William Lindsey. "Remembering Sweetwater: The Mansions, The Mills, The People." Killen, Ala., Bluewater Publications, 2002.
McDonald, William Lindsey. "Sweetwater: The Story of East Florence." Florence: Florence Historical Board, 1989.
Picture Source:
UNA Archives & Special Collection. William L. McDonald Collection. “Florence Ice and Coal Company/Central Ice Company.” Florence, Alabama. Box 12: Florence Industry, 12-31.
McDonald, William Lindsey. "A Walk Through the Past: People and Places of Florence and Lauderdale County, Alabama." Killen, Ala., Bluewater Publications, 2003.
McDonald, William Lindsey. "Remembering Sweetwater: The Mansions, The Mills, The People." Killen, Ala., Bluewater Publications, 2002.
McDonald, William Lindsey. "Sweetwater: The Story of East Florence." Florence: Florence Historical Board, 1989.
Picture Source:
UNA Archives & Special Collection. William L. McDonald Collection. “Florence Ice and Coal Company/Central Ice Company.” Florence, Alabama. Box 12: Florence Industry, 12-31.
Publisher
Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
Date
Early Twentieth-Mid Twentieth Century
Format
Image