In ancient Rome, Roman soldiers were paid a “salarium argentum” or “salt pay” while serving in the Legion. This allowed the armies to keep soldiers on campaign during foreign conquests as the soldiers required salt to survive. Biblical stories, such as that of Lot’s wife, further reinforce the idea that salt is worthy of study.

Few people realize that the tax on salt (the infamous “gabelle”) was one of the primary reasons for the French Revolution in 1789. One of the first acts of the revolutionary government was its repeal.

In the 1930s, Gandhi played an important role in abolishing the British government’s tax on salt. The now famous “salt campaign” saw Gandhi lead a twenty-five day march to the Sea of Dandi where his followers made salt in defiance of British law. The salt campaign grew to be a national protest movement with hundreds of people jailed and many killed during the nationwide protests that ensued. In March of 1931, the British government repealed the tax on salt and Gandhi’s protest movement won its first victory on the long road to independence for India.

Salt played an important role in American history as well. Colonial subjects were required to purchase and trade for English salt, rather than the less expensive varieties from Britain’s European competitors. During the Revolutionary War, British General Howe’s strategy for defeating the colonials in 1776 was to cut George Washington’s army off from its salt supply – a tactic that proved ineffective as the American soldiers endeavored to find crude ways of making the precious mineral. Salt was the reason for the creation of the Erie Canal in New York - salt companies funded its construction in order to avoid overland transportation costs and expand their market. Obtaining salt was an issue for Confederate forces during the Civil War, as salt existed primarily in northern states.

The story of salt is important locally as well. Hutchinson, Kansas was settled in 1871 and incorporated as the county seat of Reno County in 1872. Like many other Kansas towns, it struggled to survive the turbulent frontier period. Founded by Baptist minister Clinton Carter Hutchinson, the community avoided the “wild west” experiences of cow towns like Wichita, Dodge City, and Abilene by creating “herd laws” that prevented cattle drives from entering the county - and banishing “hard liquor” for five years after its incorporation. It competed successfully, however, for railroads, which were the lifeblood of Great Plains communities.

Early settlers were unaware of the riches that lay under their feet. Salt is found at a depth of 325 feet, deposited when Permian period oceans receded. The Hutchinson salt member is more than 400 feet thick and stretches from Central Kansas into Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico - making it the largest deposit in the United States. Salt was discovered in Reno County on September 26, 1887. The discovery was nationally significant in that the only known salt deposits existed in Michigan and New York, and it prompted a salt “boom” in Hutchinson, creating 26 different processing plants. The Guinlock & Humphrey plant was the first salt producing factory west of the Mississippi River. All of the early plants produced salt using the evaporation method in which water is forced down a well into the salt deposit where sodium chloride dissolves into brine water. The brine is then pumped back to the surface where it is heated in boilers that evaporate moisture leaving behind a high grade of salt.

In 1902, local salt companies played a nationally significant role in an Interstate Commerce Commission hearing about freight rates and rebates. A hearing in Hutchinson pitted the “Trusts” (nine companies owned in part by Joy Morton) against independent salt producers known collectively as “Indies” in which it was deemed that the Trust businesses were given an unfair trade advantage. Because Joy Morton owned portions of the rail lines that transported salt, railroad companies gave freight rebates to Morton controlled companies and that made competition difficult for independent producers. Results from the hearing were leading factors in the development of the Elkins Act of 1903 that gave the ICC greater power to regulate freight rates. In 1923, the Carey Salt Company opened the only salt mine in Hutchinson, drawing such attention that Pathe Newsreels came to the Salt City for the dedication ceremony.

Salt from Hutchinson was in great demand during the world wars, with facilities doubling production for the war effort. When the federal government required salt companies to assist in the prevention of Immune Deficiency Disorder, Paul Imes, a Hutchinson chemist produced the formula for iodizing salt used by companies throughout the world.

From 1958 through 1961, at the height of the Cold War, the Atomic Energy Commission conducted a series of experiments to determine if salt mines were appropriate for storage of nuclear waste. (Radioactive materials were not used in the experiments, however.) These tests helped determine that nuclear waste could be stored underground, but not in the Hutchinson mine. A mine site in New Mexico was chosen instead.

The salt industry in Hutchinson gave the community its identity and image throughout the state. Businesses such as “Salt City Land and Title” and the “Salt City Shuttle” take their names from the historical significance of salt in our community. The local high school’s mascot is the “Salt Hawk” derived in part from the University of Kansas “Jayhawk” and the salt industry. From 1923 to 1965, the Carey Salt Company offered tours of the mine to school children and other visitors. Approximately 10,000 people per year toured the facility, and schools throughout the state brought graduating classes of grammar, junior and senior high groups to Hutchinson as a “reward” for their achievement. The company discontinued tours of the mine for business reasons, but countless Kansans and their families still recall trips to Hutchinson with fondness. Inquiries about tour opportunities still come every day, and potential visitors express tremendous enthusiasm when they learn that the Kansas Underground Salt Museum will open in 2006 to accommodate their desire to view the mysterious subterranean world their parents and grandparents have spoken so fondly of.