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Ice houses allowed a trade in ice that was a major part of the early economy of the New England region of the United States, which saw fortunes made by people who shipped ice in straw-packed ships to the southern U.S. and throughout the Caribbean Sea. In winter months, ice was chopped from a lake surface and often dragged by sled to the ice house. In summer months icemen delivered it to residences in ice wagons or ice trucks, where it would be stored in an ice box, which was used much like a modern refrigerator.


A 1930 commercial icehouse near Ambler's Texaco Station in Dwight, Illinois, USA
Coney Island was a former icehouse as home and business refrigeration became more common, ice houses disappeared. The home ice delivery business declined, and was virtually gone by the late 1960s.

Smaller ice houses, usually no more than a sawdust pile covered by a makeshift roof or tarpaulin, continued to be maintained to store ice for use in local events such as fairs. Today, most ice for daily consumption is made in a home freezer, while bulk ice is manufactured, distributed and sold like other retail commodities.

Texas Ice HousesIn Texas, former ice houses are a cultural tradition. Ice merchants diversified to sell groceries and cold beer, serving as early convenience stores and local gathering places.

The widespread US 7-Eleven convenience store chain developed from ice houses operated by the Southland ice manufacturing company in Dallas and San Antonio in the 1930s, which were first known as Tote'm stores.

Today many Texas ice houses have converted into open-air bars. In the region of Central Texas and the Texas Hill Country in particular, the word "icehouse" has become a colloquialism for an establishment that derives the majority of its income from the sale of cold beer, especially such locally produced labels as Shiner Bock, Pearl, or Lone Star.