A Brief History of the Refrigerator

What began as in-ground caves, cellars, or ice houses became the most needed appliance in contemporary kitchens. The refrigerator also became one of the largest appliances and biggest energy users in the busiest room of the house.

Before the remarkable invention of the wooden ice box in the late 1800s, people would preserve food–usually grown or raised for later use–by canning, fermenting, curing, drying, smoking, or salting. Ice wagons were standard on American streets as they made frequent home deliveries at the turn of the century. In the 1920s, manufacturers like Whirlpool and Kelvinator introduced electric evaporative-cooled refrigerators for modern home kitchens. The appliances were slow to catch on and were considered a luxury item as Americans were in the depths of the Great Depression.

Manufacturers and advertisers persisted, thanks to discounted prices and sales pitches to preserve food longer in electric refrigerators. New Deal loans starting in 1935 made refrigerators a reality for more consumers. By 1950, more than 90 percent of American urban homes and 80 percent of American farms had refrigerators.

Superstars of Refrigeration

If there were a Refrigerator Hall of Fame, you wouldn’t find household names like Babe Ruth or Mickey Mantle. In 1913, Fred W. Wolf Jr. invented an electric refrigerator called the DOMELRE–a contraction of the DOMestic ELectric REfrigerator. But being first isn’t always best, with the exception of Wolf’s ice-cube tray, which caught on with later competitors. In 1916, inventors Nathaniel B. Wales and Alfred Mellowes built the Frigidaire refrigerator with a self-contained compressor. After going bankrupt, industrialist and General Motors co-founder William C. Durant acquired Frigidaire and started mass-producing (on a small scale) refrigerators in 1918.

Inventor Frederick McKinley Jones got refrigeration moving in 1938 when he developed the world’s first system for refrigerated transportation, which was applied to trucks and trains. Thermo King's company used refrigerated vehicles to transport food and blood during World War II. With Jones’ invention, sprawling supermarkets replaced mom-and-pop grocery stores. Jones received 40 patents for refrigeration technology and was the first African American to earn the National Medal of Technology.

New Domestic Technology

The refrigerator changed how and what people ate and even how they shopped. What was once a daily trip to the butcher or market became a weekly event, as items could be stored for days or, eventually, even months.

In the 1950s and early 1960s, refrigerators became a source of pride, upward mobility, and personal expression as homemakers chose colors like aqua, yellow, red, or pink to match stoves and ovens. That gave way to the avocado greens and harvest golds of the late 1960s and 1970s before swinging back to more classic white, black, and stainless steel in the late 20th century. Current trends range from the classics to retro colors to built-in refrigerators that blend seamlessly with cabinetry.

The most essential appliance in a kitchen is a refrigerator. You can do without heating appliances for days, but a fridge is necessary to keep food fresh, drinks cool, and ice replenished. A new refrigerator must fulfill the needs of all occupants while being aesthetically pleasing, part of a cohesive design, and compatible with one’s budget. A quality refrigerator should last between 10 to 18 years.