Salt places to visit · Saltville, Virginia
Saltville and the Museum of the Middle Appalachians
A small Virginia town built on salt, with a museum that runs from Ice Age mammals to Civil War salt works.
At a glance
| Where | Smyth County, near I-81, Saltville, Virginia |
|---|---|
| Type of place | Town and museum |
| What you'll see | 17 salt-related exhibits, a full-size mastodon skeleton, and films on the Civil War salt works and Saltville's company-town past. |
| Salt connection | Saltville's salt comes from the evaporated remains of an ancient inland sea; the town was one of the Confederacy's main saltworks. |
| Time needed | About two hours for a self-guided visit. |
| Nearby | The Well Fields, a salt marsh about 400 miles from the ocean, and the Saltville battlefields. |
Plan your visit: official information
The salt story
Union forces attacked Saltville twice in late 1864 to cut off the South's salt supply and captured the works that December. Later the town's salt fed a chemical industry, and the museum also covers that story.
Hours, seasons and prices change. Check with the site before you travel.
More salt places
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). Saltville and the museum of the middle appalachians. https://saltalmanac.com/places/saltville-virginia
“Saltville and the Museum of the Middle Appalachians | Salt Places to Visit.” The Salt Almanac, 8 Nov. 2026, saltalmanac.com/places/saltville-virginia. Accessed [today's date].
“Saltville and the Museum of the Middle Appalachians | Salt Places to Visit.” The Salt Almanac. Last modified November 8, 2026. https://saltalmanac.com/places/saltville-virginia.
Original sources
- Visit Smyth County. The Museum of the Middle Appalachians. https://visitsmythcountyva.com/must-sees/experience-the-museum-of-the-middle-appalachians/
- Wikipedia. Saltville, Virginia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saltville,_Virginia