The Salt Almanac Français

Did you know?

Salt helped pay for the Erie Canal

By The Salt AlmanacPublished November 8, 2026

Old stereoview photograph of workers collecting salt from rows of shallow evaporation vats in Syracuse, New York
“Solar method of evaporating salt brine,” Syracuse, New York. Stereoview by the Keystone View Company, about 1895.Keystone View Company. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons · Image source

Brine springs around Onondaga Lake made Syracuse, New York, “The Salt City,” one of America's biggest salt producers in the 1800s. A state-imposed duty on that salt helped pay for building the Erie Canal, and the canal in turn carried Syracuse salt to market.

Read the full story: Brine

More salt facts

English towns ending in “-wich” were often salt townsOne of the world's biggest salt mines lies under Lake HuronPolish miners carved a chapel, chandeliers and all, out of saltColombia has a cathedral 200 metres underground, inside a salt mine

Cite this page

For school projects and reports. Teachers often prefer the original sources too: see the list below.

The Salt Almanac. (2026, November 8). Salt helped pay for the erie canal. https://saltalmanac.com/did-you-know/syracuse-salt-city

Original sources

  1. Onondaga Historical Association. Brine, Boats, & Bureaucrats: Syracuse Salt & New York's 19th Century Canals. https://www.cnyhistory.org/programs/brine-boats-bureaucrats-syracuse-salt-new-yorks-19th-century-canals/
  2. Wikipedia. Syracuse, New York. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syracuse,_New_York