The first ice house in Cedar Falls was built in 1858 near the homestead of William Sturgis, the first permanent resident of Black Hawk County.

Hugh Smith, who owned Cedar Falls Ice and Fuel Company, made plans for the present structure.

That year the Cedar Falls Historical Society decided to save the structure.

After a successful fund-raising campaign the building was renovated beginning in 1978, and the Ice House Museum opened on June 24, 1979.

[4][2] It is constructed of hollow clay tiles and features an aerator and a two-pitch roof.