Salt Production

Before refrigeration, salt was a highly prized food preservative. In 1830 Richard Fitzpatrick acquired 100 acres of wetlands and divided the area into large compartments, creating flat drying pans that were periodically flooded with the incoming tide. When the water evaporated, layers of sea salt could be scraped from the pan. Salt was produced this way in Key West until the industry ended with the loss of fifteen thousand bushels washed away by the 1876 hurricane.

Key West, Florida · United States