Lecture Series

Boston's Ice King: Frederic Tudor

Tuesday, January 25. 2005, 8 p.m.

Dr. Alan Seaburg, Author and Curator of Manuscripts,
Emeritus, Divinity School of Harvard University

Ice cubes to India? A good idea? Or would it melt along the way?

Exporting frozen blocks of ice carved from N.E. ponds to the tropics, the South, even Calcutta made Frederic Tudor a millionaire.

This colorful entrepreneur is featured in an entertaining slide lecture "Boston's Ice King" Tuesday, January 25 at 8 p.m., at the Smith Museum, Arlington Historical Society, Jason St at Mass. Ave.

The speaker is Dr. Alan Seaburg, curator of manuscripts, emeritus, Harvard Divinity School. The Massachusetts Historical Society and Mystic Seaport recently published The Ice King: Frederic Tudor and His Circle, written by Dr Seaburg with his brother the late Rev. Carl Seaburg, and the late Stanley Peterson.

Tudor developed the "frozen water trade" and created a prosperous Ice Age for Massachusett's economy with his bright idea of harvesting ice in the years before the Civil War.

He encouraged a taste for "cold." Cold drinks, chilled desserts, extended life for meat, fish and dairy products became part of N.E domestic life at the same time Calcutta, Bombay and Madras were awaiting their cooling shipments of ice.

Some of that ice was cut from Fresh Pond and Spy Pond as a huge ice-cutting industry developed, employed thousands of men and horses. Arlington was also home to a major ice tool manufacturing company, William T, Wood.

Copies of the book will be available.

The lecture will be held at the Smith Museum, adjacent to the Jason Russell House. Admission is free and seating is unreserved. The lecture will take place at 8:00 p.m. with doors open at 7:30. Wheelchair access is at the Jason Terrace entrance. Directions