Description
Financial records of the Eagle Salt Works, 1910-1915.
Background
Railroad Surveyor B.F. Leete saw potential in the salt beds at Leete in 1871, and soon thereafter was supplying salt to the
silver mills. On hot days, the vats could make ten tons of salt per day per acre. The salt works was comprised of seven acres
of vats. In the period between 1879 and 1884 they shipped 334,000 tons of salt. In 1901-1903 the Central Pacific railroad
relocated the rail line from Wadsworth to Brown's via Hazen. They removed the rails, but left every other tie under an agreement
with Leete, who wanted to build his own light railroad to transport salt. The railroad was completed in 1903, but didn't ship
any salt until 1906. Only 171 cars of salt were shipped form 1906 thru 1910. Bankruptcy followed quickly, and the Central
Pacific ended up owning the railroad and the salt works in 1910. By 1916 the railroad had been dismantled and hauled away.
Restrictions
Copyright has not been assigned to the California State Railroad Museum. All requests for permission to publish or quote from
manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the CSRM Librarian. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the CSRM
as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must
also be obtained by the reader.
Availability
Collection is open for research by appointment. Please give Library staff one week's notice.