The Saltworks of Historic Cape Cod: A Record of the Nineteenth Century Economic Boom in Barnstable County

The early Cape Codders were reported to be well preserved in their salt. The prosperous economic period in the first half of the nineteenth century was the foundation for a large part of the subsequent commercial operations in Barnstable County and the manufacture of salt was the moving force behind this development. The early colonists depended heavily on salt for food preservation in the absence of any type of refrigeration. When the supply of this product was cut off during the Revolutionary War the people here had to make their own from sea water. This they learned to do and the intriguing story of Cape Cod and salt is here set out in fascinating detail.The fishing fleets the packet vessels and various commercial operations were all dependent on each other and on salt during those difficult times of war. Spread far and wide along the shores of Cape Cod the salt evaporators contributed heavily to the economy of the area protected by monopolies and bounties during their initial years of operations. As the population of the United States grew westward new salt sources were discovered and the manufacturing on the Cape declined. After a long period they ceased altogether but for almost one hundred years the small picturesque villages of evaporating vats on the upland beaches were strange and conspicuous attractions described by Thoreau and other early authors during their tours of Cape Cod.