It’s hard to imagine now, but Rockland Lake was once the site of one of the largest and most
successful industrial operations in the Hudson Valley. Prior to the widespread availability of
household refrigeration in the early 1920s, ice harvesting was a major industry in the United
States, and Rockland Lake was the primary supply source for all of New York City.
In 1831, the founders of what would later become known as the Knickerbocker Ice Company set
up an ice harvesting business on the eastern shores of Rockland Lake. Each winter, crews of
workers would carefully score and cut blocks of ice measuring roughly 18×30” in diameter from
the frozen lake. These blocks, weighing approximately 260-280 lbs apiece, were carried by
conveyor belts to wooden icehouses that lined the shoreline. From there, the ice traveled over
Hook Mountain on railways to awaiting barges on the Hudson River and ultimately into homes,
businesses, and restaurants throughout New York City and beyond. Rockland Lake ice quickly
gained a reputation for being among the purest and highest quality available, and the demand
for ice from the lake grew rapidly. In 1855, a number of local ice harvesting companies
combined and incorporated as the Knickerbocker Ice Company.
At its peak, the operation’s icehouses stored up to 100,000 lbs of ice and Knickerbocker
employed approximately 3,000 workers. According to a report from 1866, Rockland Lake ice
was shipped as far away as India and Australia. The Knickerbocker operation was so famous
that Thomas Edison made three short films about the harvesting process at the lake in 1902.
But by the early 1920s, refrigeration technology and the ability to create ice at home advanced
to the point where it was accessible to most consumers. In the winter of 1924, the
Knickerbocker Ice Company harvested its last block of ice and closed down its Rockland Lake
facilities.
In 2007, local residents Timothy Englert and Robert Patalano launched an event
commemorating Rockland Lake’s ice-making history. The first “Knickerbocker Ice Festival”
began that year with Patalano, a professional ice sculptor, carving an 18 foot-tall ice sculpture
replica of one of the original Rockland Lake icehouses. The sculpture drew hundreds of
spectators to the lake and quickly grew to hosting more than 25,000 visitors within just a few
years. Unfortunately, Mr. Patalano’s passing and other factors led to the event’s demise.Now,
after 12 years of dormancy, the festival is returning to Rockland Lake on January 24-25,
2026.The revival will feature igloos and ice sculptures celebrating our local history and a special
nod to the 250th anniversary of America's revolutionary path to independence. In addition to
the ice and snow art, footage from Edison’s 1902 film shorts will be projected onto a 10-foot
screen and enlarged post cards featuring the lake’s ice-harvesting past will be displayed.
The weekend forecast calls for bitter cold temperatures, but attendees can keep warm with
campfires and hot beverages. Food trucks will be on site, as well. If you have attended this
festival in the past, you already know how amazing these sculptures are to behold. I want to
thank Mr. Englert and his fellow organizers for reviving this wonderful tradition celebrating a part
of our history that played a key role in the development of our town.
Dress warm and come take a stroll through Clarkstown’s past at Rockland Lake this weekend!
