Milford Ice and Coal Co. is a perfect size building for use in an industrial or commercial area
Milford Ice and Coal, founded by George H. Draper in the early 1890’s, was one of the first mechanical ice plants in Delaware. The firm changed hands several times before ending ice production in 1975. Although the physical plant was often altered, the basic operation changed little since construction. [1]
The plant was of the ammonia compression type and had a daily capacity of ten tons. Two large structures located to the rear of the main building served as storage for manufactured ice. All machinery was powered by a forty horsepower steam engine. A siding track of the Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad facilitated the icing of refrigerator cars carrying southern Delaware produce. Sometime later, Draper added a retail coal line to his business, probably in an attempt to fill in the seasonal fluctuations of the ice business and to ease fuel costs for the coal-fired boiler.
Around 1910, Charles E. Verney purchased the plant, which had by then acquired a seventy-five horsepower steam engine to replace the older one. A 1930 Sanborn Co. insurance map indicates that several large-scale changes occurred in the late 1920’s. A 1925 fifty-five horsepower Ingersoll-Rand Type 20 diesel engine-ammonia compressor combination supplied by the Henry Vogt Co., replaced the older refrigerating machinery. The large ice-storage houses were removed and replaced by a cold storage area attached to the main plant.
The daily capacity was increased to fifteen tons of ice. It seems the rail siding was removed during this period, perhaps indicating a new source of ice for the railroad or a shift on the part of Verney to other markets (e.g. home or retail refrigeration), or both.
In 1946, Harry E. Mayhew assumed control and retained it until his death in 1973. Mayhew added gasoline, lubricating oil, heating oils and burner service to the product line. After Mayhew’s death, the Downing Fuel Service Co. ran the plant for a few years. Its daily production was limited to about five tons, sold primarily to the Paramount Poultry Company of Herbeson, Delaware, for use in refrigerated trucks. By 1976 ownership had passed to Mr. Sudler Lofland, who began to scrap the ice-making machinery.
[1] The field work, measured drawings, historical data and photographs of this site were prepared under the general direction of Douglas L. Griffin, Chief, Historic American Engineering Record, and T. Allan Comp, senior historian, HAER. The team for this project included Alarry D. Lankton, supervisory historian (University of Pennsylvania); Dennis L. Davis, Architect (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute); student architects David A. Packard, (University of Nebraska); Nancy R. Lickerman, (University of Illinois)and Allan A. Nelson (Northern Virginia Community College); Student historians Christopher S. Derganc (University of Pennsylvania) and Bruce Seely (University of Delaware). Photography was done by Charles A. Foote and George Rineer. More photos and info can be found at https://www.loc.gov/item/de0212/