East Saginaw courier. (East Saginaw, Mich.) 1859-18??, 1862-12-16
From tho Detroit Free Press
SAGINAW SALT.
Facts, Figures and Statistics.

Salt in the Saginaw Valley during the
past three months has been making ss
much excitement as the discovery of the
oil wells in Pennsylvonia did a few years
ago. The rush there during the whole
fall has been tremendous, and even now
after the close of navigation, shows but
little diminution Every day the ar
rivals are large, people coming in to
look up salt prospects and seek invest
ments from all parts of the North
From eight hundred thousand to mil
lion dollars have been invested in salt
operations since the boring of the first
well two years ago. and steps have al
ready been taken for a much larger
number of works than those already in
operation, large proportion Of which
will be ready to commence operations
in the spring. An industrial interest of
this magnitude demands specific notice.
and such we shall give it, pointing out
somewhat in detail the advantages il Of.
fers to capitalists, and referring to some
of the errors always more or less Incl.
dent to . new enterprise, accompanying
our remarks with such facts and sta
tistics as we have been able to collect.
EARLY DEVELOPMENTS OF SALT.
Numerous salt springs throughout the
State, and especially in the Grand River
Valley and on the tributaries of the
Saginaw early directed the attention Of
the pioneers of Michigan to their devel-
opment, and grant of seventy two sec.
tions Of land was obtained from Con
gress to aid the State in the enterprise
After The appointment of Douglass
Houghton as State Geologist, to whom
every citizen of Michigan owes debt
Of gratitude for developing the resources
Of the State that can he appreciated
even at this late day only as their value
is gradually becoming known-he di
rected public attention to these springs,
and through his influence some legisla.
tion was obtained for their development.
On the oath day of March, 1888, an ap
preparation of $4,000 was made for the
Improvement Of these springs. The fol
lowing summer. under the direction Of
DIR. Homghton, boring was commenced
on the Grand River, three niles below
Gand Rapids, on the right bank of the
Tittabawasse River, in Midland county,
some eighteen or twenty milas above
Saginaw City. Owing tn various causes,
which it is unnecessary to enumerate in
this article, neither Of these enterprises
was ever completed, and the subject Of
the manufacture of salt soon after fell
into dissuetude, all experiments and op.
erations ceased, and it was not long be.
fore the matter had we'll nigh passed al
together from the public mind.
COMMENCEMENT OF THE PRESENT ENTER
PRISE.
Thus matters remained for about
twenty years. Occasional reference was
made to the subject, and once in while
some speculative individual would haz.
ard the opinion that salt might be made
to pay, but no one was found sanguine
enough to hazard any money in the en-
terprise, and the State least Of all, to
whom the salt lands had been donated.
Meanwhile, DR.. G. A. Lathrop, of East
Saginaw, an accomplished gentleman
and enthusiastic student in geology. be-
came interested in Dr.. Houghton's in.
vestigations IN the saliferous rocks Of
Michigan, and took up the explorations
where Dr. Houghton had left them
He soon became convinced that the i'm.
mense salt basin underlying the State,
Of which DR.. Houghton had but dim,
though, as it proves, perfectly correct.
conception, really existed, that its briue
was, from its geological position. strong
er than that at the Ononda2a springs. in
New York, and, moreover, that the cen
tre Of the basin was in the Saginaw
Valley. He labored for long time to
impress these views upon the citizens OF
that section, and finally. in the winter of
is5S-59, a public meeting was called in
East Saginaw, at which the subject was
discussed, and finally company was
formed, and in the April following OPP
eratons were commenced This com.
pany was the East Saginaw Salt Man
ufacturing Company, and their well was
bored about three quarters of mile
northeast of the village, on the right
bank Of the river. This well was fin'
ished in April. 1860, and at last the
blocks were up, so that the manufacture
of salt was commenced on the ! lth day
of July of the same year.
AID FROM THE STATE.
In February, 1859. the Legislature
passed an act granting a. bounty OF ten
cents for each bushel of salt manufac
tured in tho State, aud also exempted
from taxation all property, real AMI per-
sonal, used for manufacturing purposes.
I. was under the stimulus of this large
bounty that operations were first lnaug'
urated, it being little suspected at the
time that il was opening up an immense
resource, which in the course OF time
would become . source Of revenue in.
stead of tax upon the State. AT the
succeeding session Of tho Legislature,
in the winter Of ls60-6l, .he success of
the enterprise being pretty well estab-
lished, this act was so far modified ss to
grant bounty Of ten cents upon each
barrel manufactured until 81 900 should
be paid, when all further bountics should
cease. This aid from the State is now
n a