Photograph as originally submitted to this page in the Historical Marker Database www.HMdb.org. Click on photo to resize in browser. Scroll down to see metadata.

Photographer: Craig Swain
Taken: May 29, 2008
Caption: Salt Kettle Sign
Additional Description: A significant contribution by the citizens of northwest Florida to the Confederate States of America was salt. A necessary preservative in those times. It was extracted from area bays by boiling until the water evaporated leaving salt. The salt was transported to Eufaula and Montgomery, Alabama, for distribution throughout the Confederate States. It sold for as much as $50 per bushel. The importance of the salt works to the Confederacy made them a target of the Union Navy. Union soldiers and sailors destroyed the works, and Confederates rebuilt them during most of the war between the states. This kettle was probably used for making syrup before the war but a "salt kettle" between 1861-65. The deep indentions on it were made by hammer blows when Union soldiers attempted to destroy it.
Submitted: June 6, 2008, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia.
Database Locator Identification Number: p25006
File Size: 1.330 Megabytes

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