William Rushton Sr

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William Rushton, Sr

William James Rushton (born c. 1845 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; died June 24, 1922 in Birmingham) was the general manager of the Birmingham Ice Factory Company, a long-time member of the Birmingham Board of Education, and a member of the Birmingham Board of Aldermen during the administration of George B. Ward.

Rushton began his business career as a sewing machine salesman. In 1878 he installed a small ice-making plant in Columbia, Tennessee, then moved to Birmingham where he constructed the city's first ice manufacturing facility, expanding to nearby towns such as Bessemer, Ensley and Avondale, and then opening ice plants in Rome and Atlanta, Georgia; Little Rock, Arkansas; Chattanooga, Tennessee; and Chicago, Illinois. He served as the first president of the Southern Ice Exchange and also served terms as president of the American Association of Refrigeration, vice-president of the Third International Congress of Refrigeration, and director of the National Association of Ice Industries.

In Birmingham, Rushton also invested in banks, breweries, fire insurance, coal mining and cold-storage. He served several terms on the Birmingham Board of Education.

Rushton died in 1922 after a long illness. He was survived by two children, Louise Couch and J. Frank Rushton. He was buried in Columbia, Tennessee with his parents and wife.

References

  • "William James Rushton, Deceased" (July 1922) Ice and Refrigeration, Vol. 63, No. 1, p. 73