The Onion Family Papers contains correspondence, business and financial documents, photographs, railroad correspondence and memorabilia, personal ephemera, and miscellaneous material relating to Carlos and Mary Onion of Rutland, Vermont for the period 1860-1870.

The collection contains records of the Springfield Ice Company owned and operated by Clare John Parker, including employee pay, customer accounts, expenses, accounts with suppliers, as well as records documenting the Ice Industry, the Concrete Industry, the National Recovery Administration (NRA), the War Food Administration, and the New England Ice Dealers Association.