History of Salt in Grand Saline

 The salt prairie southeast of town is the center of the salt deposit in Grand Saline. Salt  water rises to the surface and crystallizes in the sand as the water is evaporated by the sun and wind. The area was used as a source of salt by Caddo Indians as early as 800 AD and by the Cherokee Indians until 1839. 

Salt production started in 1845 by John Jordan and A.T. McGee.  This salt deposit is a protrusion from a main salt bed that runs across  most of east Texas and western Louisiana at about 4 miles beneath the  surface. 

This area was once under water.  As the seas dried up, layers of salt were deposited .  They were later covered as the earth's layers shifted and changed. Volcanic activity or an intense heat  melted the salt burning up fossils and any other minerals. Pressure caused the molten salt to push to the surface. 

Come visit us at the Salt Palace Museum and Visitors Center to learn more about salt.