Ices Ferry (1767) Historical Marker and Bridge

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

In 1767, Frederick Ice established one of the first settlements in Western Virginia at this location. Ice built a gristmill and operated a ferry across Cheat River, and soon the community became known as "Ices Ferry." The village expanded rapidly in the nineteenth century, largely due to the presence of an ironworks. When the ironworks closed, the community of Ices Ferry withered away and the population shrank rapidly following the end of the iron industry. Though the village was abandoned, the site of Ices Ferry remained the best places to cross the Cheat River and so the name Ices Ferry remained. A steel truss bridge was constructed in 1922 and spanned the water until it was demolished and replaced in 2012. Two historical markers are associated with Ices Ferry, though the town is no longer extant.

Images

Ices Ferry Bridge before the addition of the fourth truss, ca. 1922-1925

Ices Ferry Bridge, 2009

Ices Ferry historical marker

David Adam Ice historical marker

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

Ices Ferry was first settled by Frederick Ice, a Dutch immigrant born in 1680. After a tumultuous start in America plagued by the loss of his first family in a Native American attack, Ice visited the Cheat River area while investigating the Dunkard Creek Settlement. He resolved to start a settlement in this area and did so in 1767. The Ice family built on an island in Cheat River known as Island Tract. Ice’s background as a millwright led him to establish a gristmill, which attracted other settlers to the area. Sensing business opportunities, Ice expanded his milling operation and established a ferry across the river, thus lending the settlement its name. He lived to the astonishing age of 114. In 1794, Frederick Ice drowned near his namesake town.

Ices Ferry continued to expand in the nineteenth century. Crops grew surprisingly well in the area and there was plentiful game to hunt. Ices Ferry even became larger than Morgantown at one point, with approximately 3,000 residents calling it home. The growing population of Ices Ferry was largely due to the operation of Jackson’s Ironworks, the largest and most significant ironworks in northern West Virginia. In 1830, the ironworks were bought by the Ellicott brothers who began expanding the enterprise further. They installed the Henry Clay Furnace to supply pig iron and attempted to improve industrial transportation routes. Despite their efforts, the ironworks were ultimately a failure. Ices Ferry was simply too isolated to be an effective metal supplier and after changing hands several times, production was completely shut down by 1860.

Ices Ferry remained one of the most popular places to cross the Cheat River at the turn of the twentieth century. Some reports suggest that a bridge spanned the river from 1900 to 1918, but these claims are unverified. In any case, the three-truss steel Ices Ferry Bridge was constructed in 1922 by the Independent Bridge Company of Pittsburgh using steel from Jones and Laughlin. The first two trusses of the bridge were larger than the third. When Cheat River was dammed to create Cheat Lake in 1925, the three-trussed bridge was no longer sufficient. A fourth truss, which matched the smaller third truss, was added to extend the bridge.

The area around Ices Ferry includes two historical markers. Ices Ferry and Frederick Ice are directly commemorated by a 2004 marker at the intersection of Cheat Road and Mont Chateau Road. Additionally, Ice and his second wife, Elanor, had a child in 1767, making David Adam Ice the first white child to be born in Western Virginia. David Ice served in the revolutionary war and maintained the gristmill after his father’s death. A 1932 marker for David Ice is erected on a small peninsula just across from the marker for Ices Ferry. This marker is placed upon millstones hewn from local rock by David Ice himself.

Sources

Frederick 'Daddy Ice' Ice, II, Geni. July 30th 2020. Accessed August 1st 2020. https://www.geni.com/people/Fredrick-Ice-II/6000000007178223201.

Holth, Nathan and Rick McOmber. Ices Ferry Bridge, Historic Bridges. July 15th 2011. Accessed August 1st 2020. https://historicbridges.org/bridges/browser/?bridgebrowser=wvirginia/icesferry/.

Ices Ferry Bridge Comes Down, MetroNews. September 21st 2012. Accessed August 1st 2020. https://wvmetronews.com/2012/09/21/ices-ferry-bridge-comes-down/.

Ices Ferry Bridge, West Virginia Department of Transportation. Accessed August 1st 2020.

Maddex, Lee R. Ices Ferry Ironworks, The West Virginia Encyclopedia. Accessed August 1st 2020. https://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/830.

Morfe, Done. Ice's Ferry, Historical Marker Database. July 6th 2020. Accessed August 1st 2020. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=73337.

Pratts, J J. Site of the Birthplace of David Adam Ice, Historical Marker Database. July 6th 2020. Accessed August 1st 2020. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=74550.

Samsell, John. "History Surrounds Ice's Ferry, Bridge." Dominion Post (Morgantown) May 14th 2011. .

https://transportation.wv.gov/highways/engineering/comment/closed/icesferrybridge/Pages/default.aspx.

Image Sources(Click to expand)

West Virginia & Regional History Center

Additional Information

More information on the Henry Clay Furnace