908-1150 South Street Maxinkuckee Ice Company

Section 21 History 1835-1922

From the: Pictorial Histories: Terre Haute up_To_Date (1896) Terre Haute: Moore and Langen pg. 29 is found as follows:

Maxinkuckee Ice Company - ...formed in 1894 by Sterling B. Holtz of Indianapolis, John Pitman , and Sam E. Medbourn. It was incorporated in 1894 with Sterling B. Holtz, President; John Pitman, Secretary and Sam E. Medbourn, Treasurer...has plant for both natural and artificial ice in Indianapolis, Evansville, Brazil and South Bend and for natural ice in this city, Logansport and Marmont, Indiana... the ice houses have at Lake Maxinkuckee a storage capacity of 30,000 tons... The business office here is under the management of John Pitman...counted as one of Terre Haute's most enterprising citizens and able businessmen.

1904 - Thus by this time - by the way the lease reads Holts sold the Ice company property to the Terre Haute and Logansport Railway Company. This is the Ice house at the area refered to as "The Hole" - A two page lease for the privilege of occupying and using the existing ICE HOUSE.. ,together with the necessary machinery for propertly handling and loading ice, cut from Lake Maxinkuckee,and which is to be shipped over the railroad. The lease from the Terre Haute and Logansport Railway Company to the Maxinkuckee Lake Ice Company is dated May 25,1904 and signed by W. B. Hollingsworth as President of the ice company.

1906 - Listed as the Maxinkuckee Lake Ice Co. on the 1906 Sanborn map, this is the one located in what is or was referred to as "the hole". And the labeling reads: "3/4 mile S. E. of P.O."; P.O. = Post office and it seems to the the centralized area of measurement for distance of all buildingson them map.

Maxinkuckee Lake Ice Co, Chris. Jeannejette,

Logansport Ice and Cold Storage Co

and the full story appeared on 10, April 1906 in the Logansport Daily Pharos.

1906 12- June A big block of Ice Houses near the south end of town burned at noon. The Bucket brigade was ineffectual in saving them. They were re-built before the winter's ice harvest.

1906 Jun 23 - The Maxinkuckee Ice company will build new ice houses this season at the lake to take; the place of those burned. The greater portion of the ice stock has been saved and is being covered to protect it from the weather. It is all under contract, much of it to the Vandalia roatl, and: will be shipped out as fast as possible - Logan Daily Pharos

1906 - Aug 2 - BUYS ICE COMPANY - The Logansport Ice and Cold Storage company has bought out the local business of. the Maxinkuckee Ice company and from now on they will supply the old patronage of the Maxinkuckee company in this city. Charles Wedekin and Miss Bertha Parks who have been employed by the Maxinkuckee people will continue - with the new company. - Logansport Daily Pharos

1906 - Nov. 29 - Jacob Reamer of the Lake Maxinkuckee Ice Co., of South Bend was in town Saturday accompanied by a builder looking over the site of the ices houses with a view to rebuilding. Work will begin in time to get the houses completed by January, and the sturctures will be of the same dimensions as those destroyed last May.

1906 - Dec. 13 - New Ice House

A Big Structure About to be Erected by Sam Medbourn

S. E. Medbourn will again engage in the ice business in Culver.

Material has benn ordered for a building 140x120, 40 feet high, to be located a short distance from his grain elevator.

The plant will cost $11,000.

Ice will be floated from the lake through a canal under the railroad track. A sidetrack will be laid to the ice house, running along the west side of the elevator.

In th spring Mr. Medbourn expects to put ip lime and cement houses along the new sidetrack.

Work has already begun on the ice house log, and the plant will be ready to operate by the middle of January.

George Davis will be superintendent.

It is understood that the South Bend people have abandoned their intentionnn to rebuild the ice houses burned last spring.

near the outlet

The 1908 plat map indicates that there were 2 ice houses on the south end within a few feet of each ther and both are labeled "S. E. Medbourn" on the south end of town.

1908 - May 22 The Maxinkuckee Lake Ice Co., Reamer & Hollingsworth, of South Bend, proprietors, sold its property in Culver Thursday to J. O. Ferrier of this place for $24,000.


1908 - June The date not exactly know - a cylcone hit Culver and tore the big ice house into shreads - as evidence by the pictures below. S ections of the roof were carried out into the lake, winds reached 70 mph.

1912 - October 24 - Sale of Big Ice House Samuel E. Medbourn bought the big ice house last week owned by J. O. Ferrier for for the past five years The house is 360x140, and contains six rooms, 60x140, and has a capacity of 18,000 tones. WIth the ice house goes six acres of land. Two of the houses are n early full of ice. Mr. Medbourn paid $10,000 for the property. The sale of this plant to a home man will meet with general satisfaction. Indianapolis people were negotiating for it, but tis ownership by Medbourn will be of greater benefit to Culver.

1914 - Listed as the S. E. Medbourn & Sons Ice Co. Ice Houses on the 1914 Sanborn map, this is the one located in what is or was referred to as "the hole". And the labeling reads: "3/4 mile S. E. of P.O." (Post Office); and it seems to the the centralized area of measurement for distance of all buildings on the map. It was eventually tore down in 1915 according to David Burns.

1915 - July crop from and ad for selling lots in the ferrier addition showing lots and locations . Shows the location of the Maxinkuckee Ice company ("The Hole" as it was refered ti in later years)>.

March 6, 1918 - The onion storage house in the south part of town was destroyed by fire Wednesday evening, together with about 5,000 bushels of onions. This was said to have been the Holt Ice house.

1922 Plat

The 1924 Sanborn fire maps shows the "hole and states that it is And the labeling reads: "3/4 mile S. E. of P.O."; P.O. = Post office and it seems to the the centralized area of measurement for distance of all buildings on them map

1932 - February - Maxinkuckee Ice Company [Medbourn] Ice house was destroyed by fire at 1 o'clock a.m. cause belived to have been caused by the dry hay and sawdust within the ice house that had not been in use for four years. .

The 1937 Sanborn Fire Maps (tho it bears a Stamped seal for Nov. 1924; there is a hand written not stating 2/37 and corrected 11/3/1945) does showthe building but it capital letters and underlines underneath it - it is stated: "All bldgs in this detachment removed." We do know that this ice house burnt in the early morning hours of February 20, 1932 and assumption is that the site was cleaned up and nothing was re-built on it until the 1990's when at least 2 cottages were built there ( 908 SOuth Street & 910 South Street).

This area was known as "Cob Hill"; according to David Burns - the name originated for the area because it was filled in with corn cobs.