Necessary Ingredient

Necessary Ingredient. Malden's Salt Works. , In the decades before the Civil War, this region, called the Kanawha Salines, had a booming salt industry. Salt extraction created vast wealth here. By 1846, this area led the nation in salt production with 3.2 million bushels produced., During the Civil War, salt was a necessary ingredient for the preservation of meat for the armies. The salt works here at Malden were especially important to the Confederacy., Salt businesses relied on owned or leased enslaved laborers, and the workers faced difficult conditions. Many jobs were dangerous, mining the coal to boil the brine was especially so. Slaves toiled at the 52 furnaces that lined the Kanawha River for ten miles above Charleston. By 1850, 3,140 slaves lived among the 12,001 white inhabitants, and more than half of the slaves worked in the salt operations., Many salt-works owners lived here in Malden, while others built large estates along the Kanawha River in Charleston to escape the heat and pollution of the furnaces., Several of the houses still stand on Kanawha Boulevard. By 1861, the salt industry here was in decline because of the development of salt fields farther west, as well as the westward shift of the meatpacking industry. The Civil War and a record flood on the Kanawha River hastened its collapse., (Sidebar) , First Stop of Freedom , Born enslaved on a Virginia farm, the famous African American leader Booker T. Washington moved to Malden when he was nine with his family in 1865 after the Civil War ended. You are standing at the site of the home of his sister, Amanda Johnson. A block behind you is the location of the African Zion Church where Washington was a congregant. Just behind the church is a reproduction Of Washington's boyhood home., While in Malden, Washington packed salt, mined coal, and worked for a wealthy local family. His labors spurred his thirst for an education, and Washington became a prominent educator and leading spokesman for African Americans from 1895 until his death in 1915., He returned here often to visit his sister, Amanda., A photo of Booker T. Washington's original boyhood in Malden. His sister, Amanda Johnsen, is standing in the doorway. A reproduction of the original home is located behind the African Zion Baptist Church on Malden Drive Courtesy West Virginia and Regional History Collection, (Photo captions) , Visit these sites to learn more about salt making in the area, Brooks Salt Works, with house fenced against livestock, and likely enslaved worker dwellings behind house. - West Virginia and Regional History Collection