Fonds F0030 - Alberta Ice Company fonds

The Alberta Ice Company was incorporated in 1912 by Winnipeg and Calgary businessmen, including R.C. Thomas and F.T. Griffin. The ice was made in an artificial 25 acre lake west of Calgary at Keith. Water was taken out of the Bow River at a headgate above the lake, was chlorinated and then passed through a short canal to the lake. The company also had a small auxiliary plant at Banff, Alberta. A large warehouse was used to store the ice blocks for year-round distribution to the railways and packing houses. Home delivery of ice for iceboxes declined steeply after 1946 and ended in the early 1960s. The company continued to thrive on commercial sales to railways, packing plants, restaurants and tourists. Most of the ice was produced at a warehouse in downtown Calgary after 1951 but the artificial lake continued to be used into the 1960s. The company later affiliated with the Arctic Ice Co. of Edmonton and Winnipeg.