A major Confederate saltworks with a daily capacity of 150 bushels before completion was located 200 feet north. Brick foundations were salvaged from the ruins of the old City of St. Joseph. Salt processed by evaporation of seawater was one of Florida's two chief contributions to the Confederacy. These saltworks were destroyed on September 8, 1862, by U.S.S. Kingfisher through bombardment and landing party action. The destruction of Confederate saltworks was considered a blow to the Southern cause comparable to the fall of Charleston.