Silsbee Ice Plant

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm just the one passin' it along. Now, out here in Hardin County, there's a building that's done more for a hot Texas summer than just about anything you care to name. That's the old Silsbee Ice Plant, and if you think ice is a simple thing, well, you haven't thought hard enough about a July afternoon with no refrigeration in sight.

The outfit behind it all was the Silsbee Ice, Light, and Power Co., and in 1926 Gulf States Utility Co. bought the whole operation. Then came 1930, and the company made a move, relocating into the structure you can still see today. That's when things really started humming.

A new spur track of the Gulf, Colorado, and Santa Fe Railway went in, and suddenly this wasn't just a local concern. No sir. The plant became a major regional ice distributor, shipping cold across the territory on iron rails.

It ran like that, serving the region, until 1943, when local businessmen bought it and kept the ice coming. And it kept on running, all the way to 1981. Nearly half a century under that one roof.

Now, the building itself is worth a long look. Designed by D. H.

Paulson, it's a raised one-story brick structure, and Paulson didn't just slap up a warehouse. He reached for something. Spanish Revival influences, tiled pent roofs, awnings, the kind of details that say somebody believed this place deserved a little grace.

Out here in the East Texas heat, a man building something beautiful around the business of keeping things cold. That's a Texas story if I ever heard one.

What the marker says

The Silsbee Ice, Light, and Power Co., bought by Gulf States Utility Co. in 1926, grew rapidly after relocating to this structure in 1930. With a new spur track of the Gulf, Colorado, & Santa Fe Railway in place, the company became a major regional ice distributor. The plant was sold to local businessmen in 1943 and functioned until 1981. Designed by D. H. Paulson, the raised 1-story brick building reflects Spanish Revival stylistic influences in its tiled pent roofs and awnings. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1991