Salt Pillar Monument - Goderich, Ontario
N 43° 45.014 W 081° 42.477
17T E 443003 N 4844375
Goderich is home to the world's largest underground salt mine. The industry has been a huge part of Goderich since the mid-1800s. This pillar of salt can be found in a pretty park that looks out over the salt mine.
Waymark Code: WM104JD
Location: Ontario, Canada
Date Posted: 02/24/2019
Views: 9
Thanks to the earthcache on this site (https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC1X75B_salt-pillar-of-goderich?guid=626cd2e0-44b2-4982-9414-cbc02df551c7), I have the following information:
"Although he was prospecting for oil in 1866, Mr. Sam Platt's drilling rig hit paydirt of a different kind when it struck rock salt almost 1,000 feet beneath Goderich Harbour. The claim that he was only mildly surprised at the discovery is probably correct as native peoples of the area had earlier told him of the evidence of salt deposits throughout the region. His findings became the first recorded discovery of a salt bed in North America. By year's end, rock salt was being used as a source of brine for salt production.
Sam Platt proved to be a successful businessman when his company declared a 51 percent dividend the next years, the same year Canada became a nation.
Little did he realize, moreover, that his salt discovery was near the edge of a huge geological formation called the Michigan Salt Basin. His discovery initiated a salt rush. By late 1867, 12 independent salt wells were dotting the Maitland River valley down to its confluence with Goderich Harbour and Lake Huron. Salt fever had hit the area! San Platt had made salt, for centuries one of the world's most sought after commodities, synonymous with "the prettiest town in Canada.""
Type of Display: Geological
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