Other areas of Kentucky produced salt but paled in comparison to the quantity produced in the area discussed in the last tip. There were wells and furnaces everywhere and men by the hundreds were employed in the industry. Some were wood choppers, some waggoners, kettle tenders or drew water. Hunters frequented the area as well as storekeepers, coopers, carpenters; people came from all over the wilderness of what was to become Kentucky. Others came to protect the salt makers, and those who were lured by the possibility of striking it rich. The salt produced was sent to many parts of the United States. Flatboats and pack trains carried it to Tennessee, Illinois and throughout the state. This was the most noted area of the state during the early days. Louisville had been settled sparsely, but was considered by many as a "sickly" place due to the abundance of stagnant water from ponds and swamps. Lexington at this time was just a mere stockade. Frankfort had not yet been heard of. A letter was written by Thomas Perkins of Lincoln Co KY in 1785 to the Honorable J. Palmer in Braintree, Massachusetts in which he made note of Bullitt's Lick. He said that "about 40 gallons of water would produce a bushel of salt. The wells were dug 30-35 feet deep and the closer they got to the mountains, the more the water was impregnated with salt. The going rate was $3.00 per bushel." (Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society 1871-1873 (Boston, 1873), pp 38-39). The production of salt seems to have involved the following: The furnaces were just long trenches dug back along the top of the bank. These furnaces were walled with slate up to 15 inches thick that was then laid with a mortar of clay. The kettles used were about 22 gallons each or larger. These were set on the top of the trench in a row, 50 or more in the row. The furnace was then fired from the front of the row and the smoke and fire were sucked along under the kettles, ending up coming out in a stone chimney at the end of the pit. A shed roof was put over this row to protect it from inclement weather. Salt water was then poured into the kettles and boiled for twenty-four hours. From there the water was transferred to a cooler which was a trough which acted as a settling tank. The saturated brine was drawn off the into the kettles again and again boiled until it became grainy. Sometimes it was noted that blood was added to purity the water, or they put in the white of an egg. When the grains began to form salt crystals, the fires were cooled slightly but still allowed to boil. The salt was then dipped out by hand as it formed and put into baskets for draining. The drippings were caught in pans and returned to the "mother" - the water in the kettles. Nothing was wasted. These mothers were never allowed to boil dry; when the water level became too low, additional water was added which had been boiled for 24 hours. When the water became too impure, the water was replaced and the process started all over again. The wells, from which the original water was drawn, were shored up with timber; later stone was used. They were protected by sheds to keep rain from flowing into them. The furnaces were some distance from the well and were brought to the furnace through a covered wooden flume. Normally gum or sassafras logs were used for this. Each pipe was bored out by hand, connected together and an iron sleeve (or wooden) was put around the joints. A trench was then dug by hand and the pipes or flume put in it and buried, attempting to put it below the frost line. One such string of pipes went from Buttlitt's Lick all the way to Shepherdsville, crossed the Salt River and ended at a furnace ½ mile south of the river. Another string of pipes came from Bullitt's Lick towards Pitt's Point and on to the area of the Fort Knox Reservation. The Salt Makers. Most names have been lost over the years, but some of the names recorded include the following: Colonel William Christian, owner of Bullitt's Lick. He came to Kentucky in 1785 and was killed the following year by the Indians. He had left the lick to his son, John Henry Christian. His son was under age so his mother, Anne Christian was named guardian and an agent handled the affairs for her. Moses Moore leased the lick to more than a dozen men who operated the furnaces there independently. Anne Christian died before John Henry Christian came of age and Patrick Henry was appointed his guardian. Walter Warfield was named Henry's agent. John Henry Christian died just after coming of legal age. He left 5 sisters and each received a 1/5th share. One sister had married Alexander Scott Bullitt and John Pope had married another. The Popes bought out the interest of the other sisters and later was formed Bullitt's Lick-Mann's Lick Company. General James Wilkinson was noted by historian Dr. Thomas Clark; and in 1792, four men came here - Thomas Smith, Moses Moore, Phillip Buckner and Jonathan Owsley. They operated under the name of Moses Moore and Company, leasing the Long Lick from Adam Shepherd and Henry Crist. A partial list of residents of Brashear's Station, mentioned in the previous tip, included: Wm Brasher Sr and his family (wife Anne; children, Nicholas Ray, William Jr, Joseph, Sally, Elizabeth, Nancy and Jemima); Jacob From Sr and his brother Paul and Jacob's family (Jacob Jr, Isaac and Absolom); Thomas Phelps and children (Anthony, Guy, Edwin, Lucy); John Ray, Nichoas Ray, Nicholas Crist, Parmenas Briscoe, Wm Shain, David Hawkins, Sr, David Hawkins, Jr, John Hawkins, James Daugherty, Spencer Collings, Wm E Collings, Thomas Collings, Zebulon Collings, Peter Cummins and his family, John R Gaither & his wife Mary, Ben Pope Sr, Ben Pope Jr, Worden Pope, Elizabeth Cummins, Cornelius Bogart, Wm Overall & John Overall, Benjamin ray, Peter Potmy and Nancy his wife, Timothy Cummins, Fatima McClelland, Sally Thomas, Thmas Dowdall and James Dowdall, Thomas McGee, John McGee and Patrick MCGee. For further information, the reader is referred to several publications including: John Filson, Kentucke, and the Adventures of Col. Daniel Boone, New York, 1839, p. 156. Lewis & Richard H. Collins, History of Kentucky (Covington, 1882), Volume II, 17-18. Thomas D. Clark, A History of Kentucky (New York, 1937), p. 9. Willard Rouse Jillson, Pioneer Kentucky, p. 96. Robert E McDowell, Filson Club Historical Quarterly, July 1956, Cvol 30, pp. 241-69. (c) Copyright 30 Aug 2001, Sandra K. Gorin, All Rights Reserved. sgorin@glasgow-ky.com Col. Sandi Gorin, 205 Clements, Glasgow, KY 42141 (270) 651-9114 Member: Glasgow-Barren Co Chamber of Commerce. Publishing: http://ggpublishing.tripod.com/ SCKY resource links: http://www.public.asu.edu/~moore/Gorin.html