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GRAND
SALINE, TEXAS
Suggested slogan:
So many salt jokes; so little time
Van Zandt County, North
Central Texas
Hwy 80
71 miles East of Dallas
11 miles NE of Canton on FM17
Population: 3,028 (2000)
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Your Hotel Here & Save
Canton
Hotels |
"Is
this Chicken Fried Steak salty, or is it my imagination?"
"It must be your imagination, my Chicken Fried Steak is fine.
The Salt
Palace and Grand Saline's Salt Festival
One of Texas' more
unusual structures is The Salt Palace at the intersection of
Hwys 110 and 80. This modern building , constructed entirely of salt
blocks replaces a more modest cube that was built in 1977 for Grand
Saline's Salt Festival. Call 903-962-5631 for information. |
Sprays
and Cooling Pond, Morton Salt Co. Grand Saline, Texas
Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
Grand Saline
Salt Company / Morton Salt
The Salt mining
operation was known as the Grand Saline Salt Company
before it evolved into Morton Salt. But before the little
girl with the umbrella, there were Indians (without umbrellas). The
Cherokees had barely gotten comfortable in Texas and had hardly
used any of the salt, when they were driven out of Texas* by the anti-Indian
policies of Mirabeau Lamar. During the Civil War, the salt was essential
to the war effort as a preservative and for tanning leather. It's
mining was considered a vital industry. |
Grand
Saline street scene
Photo courtesy texasoldphotos.com |
Molton
Salt Co., Salt Mine in Grand Saline, Texas
Photo courtesy texasoldphotos.com |
The Bad news : No Salt Mine Tours
The Good News : We won't run out of salt in your lifetime.
The mining operations just a mile south of The Salt Palace,
reach a depth of 700 feet and extend over a 60 acre area, so we're
told. They stopped giving tours a long time ago, so you'll have to
take our word.
A film tour of the mine is given in the Salt Palace Museum.
According to a Van Zandt Co. historical marker: 5 tons of salt was
mined each day and that was before the civil war. In 1982 they
mined 400,000 tons. The salt found here can supply the world's craving
for the next 20,000 years. After that, we'll need to find a substitute.
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Your Hotel Here & Save
Canton
Hotels
More Hotels |
Grand Saline
Today
Photos courtesy
Mike
Price, October 2007 |
| Other
attractions include the restored Texas and Pacific Depot, now used
as a city library and for civic meetings. 201 E. Pacific Street Hours:
Tuesday through Friday 9 to 5. |
Grand Saline
Personality - Wiley Post
Grand Saline is also the birthplace of famous aviator Wiley Post.
Post, who lost an eye in an oil field accident, didn't let his handicap
stop him from winning speed and endurance flying records in the 20s
and 30s. He was the first to fly (in an experimental pressurized suit)
into the stratosphere. Will Rodgers, who was one of aviation's
most ardent cheerleaders, chose Post to pilot him on an around the
world flight. They died at the beginning of their trip close to Point
Barrow, Alaska in August of 1935.
*Chief Bowles of the Cherokees was killed in the fight that resulted
in the Cherokees leaving Texas. A marker tells the story at a roadside
park just East of Colfax. This occurred in 1839. |
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The
Grand Saline Concert Band
Old postcard |
Nearby Destinations
Take FM17 SE 11 miles to Canton,
or
Take Hwy 80 W 14 miles to Mineola
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