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Event

James Gallagher harvests and stores clear harbor ice, 1956

Also 1956 Beaver Island ice harvest

Draft — sources verified, prose evolving

Locator map: Saint James Harbor highlighted within the Beaver Island archipelago
Took place at Saint James HarborLocator plate © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0); depths NOAA; names USGS GNIS. How the plates are drawn.
TypeEvent
Date1956-03
WithinBeaver Island
ErasModern era
On this page
Locator map: Saint James Harbor highlighted within the Beaver Island archipelago
Took place at Saint James HarborLocator plate © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0); depths NOAA; names USGS GNIS. How the plates are drawn.
Event
Date
1956-03
Kind
Business
Where
Saint James Harbor
Eras
Modern era
Concepts
economyshippingcommunity
Within
Beaver Island

Summary

In March 1956, James W. Gallagher was harvesting clear harbor ice for summer use. The Beaver Beacon reports 100 tons stored, ice about 23 inches thick, 60-pound cakes, and production capacity of about 1,200 pounds per day.

Evidence and limits

The quantities and equipment details remain the newsletter’s report. The article does not create a production ledger, sales record, or complete history of the icehouse; its statement about yacht use is not treated as a measured market series.

Sources

  1. Reports James W. Gallagher cutting harbor ice, storing 100 tons, working with ice about 23 inches thick, forming 60-pound cakes, and producing up to 1,200 pounds per day. It says summer yachts used most of the supply and describes a prior season’s loss of bottom-layer ice, but it does not provide an inventory ledger, sales records, or complete commercial history. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1956-03_Beaver-Beacon
  2. The held four-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published ice-harvesting report; it does not expand the production or market record.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1956-03_Beaver-Beacon

Added 3 August 2026. Recent changes

Cite this article

Beaver Island Archive, “James Gallagher harvests and stores clear harbor ice, 1956”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/events/beaver-island-winter-ice-harvesting-1956/, accessed [date], citing Beaver Beacon, March 1956, “Ice Harvesting.” (and 1 further source listed on the page).

Last revised 2026-08-03. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.

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