History & local legend
The Coudersport Ice Mine is a hillside shaft in Sweden Valley, Potter County, known for ice that forms during the warmer part of the year and disappears as winter approaches. Its story begins in 1894, when silver prospector Billy O’Neill dug into the hillside. According to the account told by the site’s operators, he found no silver, but returned in summer to discover ice inside the excavation.
The attraction was originally known as the Sweden Valley Ice Mine. Visitors came to see the apparent reversal of the seasons: summer heat outside, with ice and cold air a short distance inside the shaft. The phenomenon has prompted explanations involving winter air stored in the mountain and released through its rock passages during warmer weather.
In a January 2026 interview with WITF, operator Gary M. Buchsen described inspecting the shaft in winter and finding it completely dry, then expecting ice to begin growing in spring. He also recounted its recent history: after closing around 1990, the attraction deteriorated for years before his parents, Gary and Diana Buchsen, bought it in 2012 to restore it. The enduring mystery here is the mountain’s unusual seasonal behavior, which visitors can observe directly.
