Ice House
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506 Rose Street |
The ice house at 506 Rose Street was also home to Williams "Famous" Ice Cream. In 1920, a homeowner could buy 100 pounds of ice for 75 cents. Mr. George S. Williams (1843-1923) moved to Petoskey in 1884. According to an article in The Independent Democrat in 1895, Mr. Williams had 35 years experience in "compounding ice cream." In addition to his ice cream factory, which could produce 300 gallons of ice cream per day, Mr. Williams also organized the Petoskey Cigar Company. He sold the ice cream business to William Barnes, who sold it to Wood Martin. Mr. Martin sold it to Petoskey Packing Company in 1946. When they purchased it, they planned to continue to manufacture ice cream and butter, according to an article in the Petoskey Evening News. It was briefly owned by the Freeman Dairy Company (1922-1924) but re-purchased by Mr. Martin, who operated it as the Martin Dairy after 1924.
An 1895 newspaper article says that Mr. Williams has had 35 years experience in compounding ice cream. He was 52 years old at the time.
An 1895 newspaper article says that Mr. Williams has had 35 years experience in compounding ice cream. He was 52 years old at the time.
In 1913, the newspaper reported that a crowd of boys took a delivery wagon belonging to the Williams Ice Cream Factory out on the breakwater and dumped it into the lake. They were give 24 hours to fish it out and return it to the company.