The Ice Mine: an accidental discovery?
In 1894, adventurer Billy O’Neil was exploring Ice Mountain, spurred on by the legend of a silver mine. But instead of the glittering silver he hoped for, he found layers and layers of ice - a shaft 10 feet long, 8 feet wide, and over 30 feet deep.
While the search for silver proved fruitless, the mystery of the ice mine endures to this very day. Despite the region's seasonal shifts, ice begins to form in April and often persists through October, melting only as the surrounding land grows colder. A truly wondrous natural local phenomenon, it quickly became a travel hot spot and notable point of interest in Coudersport.
Edwin Swift Balch has described the Ice Mine as a true "glaciere naturelle" or natural refrigerator. He states that even though the Coudersport Ice Mine is small, it is the most impressive one known in the eastern United States.
Over time it fell into disrepair and in 1990 closed its doors, seemingly for good. However, in 2013, Gary and Diana Buchsen purchased and restored the property. In 2015, the Ice Mine was reopened to the public and remains a popular tourist attraction and gift shop and is open to the public from Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day.
It annually attracts several thousand visitors from throughout the United States and around the world.
The Coudersport Ice Mine is open from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day.
It is open Wednesday through Sunday from 10:00am through 6:00pm.
Admission is $5 for adults and $2.50 for children ages five to twelve.
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