Welcome to SB McCray
We are your local source for supplies rescued from a life in a land fill. In the redeveloped and remodeled McCray refrigeration factory in Kendalville IN. Flooring, framing timber, masonry and other materials are available.
205 W. Wayne St
Kendallville IN 46755
Following our passion we felt that a restoration business should have its roots in an established building. The McCray refrigeration factory serves that purpose perfectly. Here is a brief history of Elmer McCray and his vision.
Before modern refrigeration, ice houses, spring houses, and cold cellars proved only marginally successful in preserving foods like meats and dairy during hot weather. Enter Hiram and Elmer E. McCray, a father and son team of refrigeration pioneers in Kendallville, Indiana. A butter and egg merchant, Hiram needed a way to better preserve his inventory during the hot summer months. In 1882, the two received a patent for their invention of a cold storage room. Elmer continued to improve on his father’s patent, developing better refrigeration units for both residential and industrial use. By 1891, Elmer shifted entirely into the refrigeration business. At his McCray Refrigeration factory in Kendallville, Elmer produced a wide array of iceboxes and cold storage units. In advertisements, the McCray company touted their icebox units lined with porcelain tile, opal glass, and odorless wood to be far safer and superior to other brands of iceboxes lined with zinc, which they warned could corrode, poisoning milk and food. Indeed, in his book Indiana: One Hundred and Fifty Years of Development, Charles Roll wrote that Elmer E. McCray had developed his and his father’s refrigeration patents “to such a point that he may rightfully be called the founder of modern sanitary refrigeration.” he McCray Company remained in Kendallville, Indiana for almost eighty years until 1975, when it merged with Howard Refrigeration of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and moved to that city. Howard McCray remains a leading manufacturer of commercial refrigeration units. When you select items from your supermarket meat cooler, deli case, or frozen food display, you are likely reaching into a Howard McCray refrigeration unit.
- Ramona Cecil
http://www.hhhistory.com/2015/08/keeping-it-cool-mccray-icebox.html?m=1