Gliding Into Health: How 19th-Century America Found Freedom on the Ice
In the decades after the Civil War, Americans discovered a winter pastime that promised far more than entertainment. To skate was to breathe deeply, move freely, and step—quite literally—into a healthier way of life. From Brooklyn’s public ponds to the gilded rinks of Manhattan society, ice skating became a national sensation, celebrated for its physical, social, and even moral benefits.
Fresh Air as Medicine
Brooklyn Eagle, December 8, 1870
In 1870, the Brooklyn Eagle lamented that “two-thirds of women’s lives” unfolded inside “furnace-heated and ill-ventilated apartments.” Such confinement, the editors warned, restricted the “vital” exchange of oxygen and carbon that sustained good health.
The solution was simple: go skating.
Frequent visitors to the frozen ponds, breathing “oxygenated air,” flushed their cheeks with newly energized blood and became “proof against colds.” Skating was not merely physical exercise—it was liberation, offering women a public space where they could mingle “on a footing of equality,” laugh freely, assist one another, and “enjoy life…in its heartiest and most sensible way.”
Society Women on the Ice
New York Tribune, February 9, 1897
By the late Gilded Age, skating had blossomed into a fashionable ritual among New York’s elite. The Tribune reported that Mrs. John Jacob Astor, Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt, Mrs. Ogden Mills, Mrs. George Gould, the Misses Rockefeller, and the Misses Van Rensselaer were all accomplished skaters.
Mrs. Vanderbilt praised the pastime with characteristic directness:
“Americans don’t spend half enough time skating…the very best exercise of the winter season.”
Meanwhile Mrs. George Gould, admired for her skill, delighted crowds by cutting names and monograms—ornate figure-eights—onto the ice. These were women using exercise as elegance, and elegance as expression.
“If You Would Learn to Be Graceful…”
Buffalo Times, January 14, 1900
In 1900, the Buffalo Times argued that skating surpassed dancing as the exercise best suited to cultivate grace. Balanced on “iron runners,” women developed poise, elasticity, and lifelong joint strength. The paper advised that the real work occurred from the hips down, and that one-foot skating strengthened the muscles of each limb individually.
The article also reveled in skating fashion, singling out the famously beautiful Mrs. Lily Langtry, who glided across the ice in a sable-trimmed, tight-fitted green velvet skating habit:
“I have never seen her to better advantage…she looked dazzlingly lovely.”
Even more charming, the writer noted that dancing the quadrille on skates was excellent for stimulating circulation and the mind—demanding both memory and attention.
Above all, the paper insisted on the superiority of outdoor skating. No rink, it said, could match the pure oxygen of the winter air.
Brooklyn’s Skating Boom
Brooklyn Daily Eagle, January 7, 1900
By the turn of the century, skating had become a democratic ritual. The Eagle estimated that 10,000 to 15,000 people swarmed Prospect Park for skating on a single day.
Most were beginners—“90% unskilled”—and the “treacherous ice” seemed always ready “to take unfair advantage.” Yet enthusiasm was unstoppable. Even moderately skilled skaters averaged two hours on the ice, strengthening muscles, circulation, stamina, and good humor.
Prospect Park’s pond became a frozen meeting ground for all classes and abilities, a place where community formed in motion.
“If you would learn to be graceful, learn to skate.”
— Buffalo Times, January 14, 1900
Why It Matters
Across three decades of journalism—from 1870 to 1900—a remarkably consistent story emerges.
Ice skating offered people, especially women:
Open air in an era of indoor confinement
Physical confidence, grace, and strength
Social freedom, mixing both society matrons and everyday skaters
A public winter space where laughter, courtesy, and equality reigned
A rare form of joy during the coldest months of the year
Long before modern fitness apps and wellness culture, Americans understood the restorative power of movement, nature, and community. Their advice feels surprisingly modern:
Step outside. Breathe deeply. Glide if you can.
The cold air may be the warmest gift you give yourself all winter.
Sources
Brooklyn Eagle (Brooklyn, NY), December 8, 1870.
New York Tribune (New York, NY), February 9, 1897.
Buffalo Times (Buffalo, NY), January 14, 1900.
Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, NY), January 7, 1900.
Image Captions
Top image: 19th-century ice skating scene, Currier & Ives, “Skating on Central Park, New York” (ca. 1862). Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.