White Mountain Ice Cream Freezer
One of the most popular ice cream flavors remains vanilla. Since its
inception in the 17th century, the world has been enticed by the delicious and creamy flavor of a serving of ice
cream. To understand the full history of the White Mountain Ice Cream Freezer, we must start at the beginning and
work our way forward toward this amazing invention.
As mentioned before, ice cream dates back to the 17th century and this was by a chef of the
great Charles I. The original process of making ice cream was filling a dish with some ice, and then shaking
flavored cream inside of it. It won King Charles over so much he forbid his staff from releasing this fine
delicacy. But by the 1800's the ice cream craze began to spread over Europe. There was no longer a secret attached
to this sweet treat. When this delicious treat found the United States soil its popularity shot up even higher. The
first President of the United States, George Washington became so fond of it he bought an early ice cream maker to
satisfy his habit.
It wasn't until 1846 that people had the chance to buy an ice cream maker. Deciding to go
without a patent, Nancy Johnson developed the first hand cranked model. What would follow a few years later would
be the White Mountain Ice Cream Freezer.
In the year 1872, the doors to the very first White Mountain Ice Cream Company opened its doors
in Laconia, NH. The first owner, Thomas Sands, began to invent and reinvent different models of the original White
Mountain Ice Cream Freezer and pushed his business forward until 1881 when the factory burned down. As a result of
the fire, Mr. Sands was left in a pinch. He loved his business, but rebuilding at that point wasn't an option. The
area he lived in wasn't serviced well by the railroads, and he needed somewhere that he could utilize the railroad.
Within no time he found the perfect location and bought 4 acres of available land between the tracks of four of the
biggest railroads in the area.
In this area, he build his factories including a 200' x 40' main factory, a 200' x 33'
storehouse, various shops and other locations that were devoted to the production and sale of his products from the
main factory as well.
In 1888 the first exchange of business happened, when the company was bought for one hundred
thousand dollars. This included machinery and the blueprints and patents for the White Mountain Ice Cream
Freezer.
In 1930 the company was forced to move again by another fire and this time it settled on Broad
Street where it remains to this day. In 1963 the company was bought out by the Alaska Freezer Company and the last
time it has changed hands was in 1974 when William H. Potter, Jr. bought the company.
To date, this company not only continues to make delicious ice cream, but they continue to
produce the high quality White Mountain Ice Cream Freezer making units.
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