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Clinton News Record, 2016-07-27, Page 1818 News Record • Wednesday, July 27, 2016 The Clinton Salt Industry, 1867-1918 David Yates Special to the News Record The accidental discovery of salt in May, 1866 on the Maitland River flats set off a decade long salt boom in Huron county. At least briefly, nearly every town, village and hamlet in the area began drilling opera- tions in the hopes of striking it rich in salt. Most of these salt wells, if they came into production at all, lasted only a few years. For fifty years, Clinton rivalled only Goder- ich and Seaforth as the region's salt leading manufactory. Henry Ransford's diary written in 1881 is the pri- mary source for the creation of Clinton's salt industry. Ransford (b. 1804) was liv- ing in England when he learned from his son, Rich- ard, that salt had been discovered in Huron County. The Ransford's owned the Stapleton estate located just over a mile east of Clinton on the Huron Road. In September 1867, EL EWEATE LTD_ the senior Ransford 'directed' Richard who lived at Stapleton (named after the Ransford's English hometown) to drill for salt on the property. At 1151; Ransford struck a bed of pure salt 15' feet thick. They had tapped into what geologists call the Michigan bed which stretches from southern Ontario to Michigan. Rich- ard `plugged up the hole' and returned to England for further instructions from his father. 'After long consultation, [Henry Ransford] agreed to go in for salt' He gave Rich- ard funds to purchase exper- tise and equipment 'thinking we were to make lots of money out of' the salt business. Henry arrived in Clinton in June 1868 where he had 'plenty to do at the salt works.' On August 11, 1868, the boilers at the Stapleton works were fired up for the first time. Within a week, Ransford made his first salt sale to a local farmer. The 33 Main St., Seaforth 519.600.1577 Direct 519.272.5413 THE SIGN THAT SAYS SOLD • Please Vrsjl Stapleton well was only the second one in Ontario. Another salt well at Stapleton became opera- tional in 1869. The `Goder- ich Star' praised `Mr. Rans- ford [presumably Richard] for the energy he has displayed' in the salt enterprise. Salt production was a fairly simple pro- cess. Water was flushed down pipes that led to the salt bed dissolving the rock salt which was pumped to the surface as a brine. Wood fuelled boilers heated giant evaporator pans that boiled off the brine leaving salt crystals. The crystals were then air dried and packed into bar- rels capable of holding 300 pounds of salt. According to 'The History of Clinton' (1950), the Sta- pleton Salt Works built a trestle bridge over the Bay- field River in 1870 which connected the salt well with the Grand Trunk Railway. A board walk connected the Stapleton Works with the AMY McCLURE Sales Rep. 519-525-3988 www.sellingseaforth.com town. During its peak of pro- duction during the 1870s and 1880s, the Stapleton works produced 300 barrels daily. Nearly one hundred employees worked at Sta- pleton's evaporating plant, cooperage, sawmills and salt sheds. Local historian Marie Black wrote that sev- eral workmen cottages were also located at Stapleton. After Henry Ransford died in England in the 1880s, his sons, Richard and John, continued the family salt business. A joint stock company established another Clinton salt company in 1870 known as the Clinton Salt Works. According to the 'Annual Report of the Bureau of Industries' (1887), the Clin- ton Salt Works was located at town's south west edge near the junction of the Grand Trunk Railway and the Lon- don Road. In 1875 a local grocer, John McGarva, purchased the well and operated it as the McGarva Salt Works MAUREEN WILDFONG Sales Rep. 519-525-9954 f To Viva AJI Ou isiin is THE SIGN THAT SAYS SOLD MAIN FLOOR LAUNDRY FAMILY HOME INCOME PROPERTY OQ��Pt ti a. NF Q� ,. •�'' r ': - � 1, • r, 62 CROMBIE STREET, SEAFORTH 38 CENTRE STREET, SEAFORTH 103 MAIN ST NORTH, SEAFORTH 161 DINSLEY ST WEST, BLYTH MLS # 802381 $269,900 MLS # 375581 $164,900 MLS # 937179 $139,900 MLS # 378046 $189,900 PLEASURE TO SHOW OPEN STYLE RANCH AFFORDABLE COUNTRY HOME IMMEDITATE POSSESSION OQ��Pt OQO' ,.� Q� ,. 00� �tl 39520 BLYTH ROAD 82 CHALK STREET, SEAFORTH 41564 KING ST, KINBURN 23 ANN STREET, SEAFORTH MLS # 191071 $219,900 MLS # 607372 $329,900 MLS # 301267 $69,900 MLS # 453723 $159,900 www.sellingseaforth.com until it closed in 1885. The Ontario Bureau of Indus- tries claimed that the well operated for only 8 of the 11 years that McGarva owned it. A 35' bed of pure salt combined with easy access to two railroads should have made the McGarva Works a thriving enterprise, but the best price ever realized was $1.00 per barrel in 1871. Fundamental problems handicapped the local salt industry. The Bureau of Industries in 1886 reported that a 200' thick limestone ledge had collapsed into the cavity formed by the extrac- tion of salt at the Stapleton Works. 'In consequence of which the brine is not now of a quality to produce the finest grades of salt.' The Stapleton Works operated for only four months in 1885. Frequent work stoppages created labour instability which lim- ited production. Most local historians agree that as Huron County stripped its forests to sup- ply wood for the salt boil- ers, the main supply of cheap fuel ended. Increas- ing rail transportation costs also led to the local salt industry's rapid decline. However, John Ransford blamed the industry's decline on high tariffs placed on American coal imports while cheaper English salt flooded the Canadian market duty free. In 1885, the last attempt at forming a local salt makers' combination collapsed. Hav- ing failed to convince local salt producers on the need for a united front, John Rans- ford called a nation-wide conference of Canadian salt manufacturers in Clinton in 1887. Ransford complained to the 'Clinton New Era' that the Canadian salt 'industry is crippled by customs duty on coal.' Furthermore, Ransford argued 'the pre- sent condition of the salt trade is most deplorable' because there was no duty on English salt. The only way 'to utilize the vast deposits of wealth lying at our feet,' Ransford con- tended, was to form a com- mercial union. Yet, Ransford's salt mak- ers' union favoured free trade when it came to Amer- ican coal at the same time it wanted protective import duties on English salt. As a result, the salt manufactur- ers' self-serving and contra- dictory demands were inef- fective at fighting trade barriers. In 1904, the 'News - Record' announced yet another indefinite shut down at the Stapleton Works because cheap `English salt, which comes in free of duty, monopo- lized the market.' Rans- ford's last attempt at form- ing a commercial union ended when the Dominion Salt Agency dissolved in January 1907. When Richard Ransford died in January 1911, at age 72, he had already left the salt works for farming in Middlesex County. John Ransford, with his son Mel- ville, remained in the family's struggling salt business. In 1915, the Stapleton Salt Works was reduced to one well. In 1918, the Sta- pleton Salt Works shut down permanently. The closure of the Stapleton Works ended Clinton's salt producing era. It was the last Huron County salt well in operation outside of Goderich. John Ransford was reduced to the humble position of Grand Trunk ticket agent until its Clinton office closed in 1932. At age 87, John Ransford died in May 1935. Keep your funny -bone in shape! Laughing has proven stress -release and health benefits. Funny how that works, eh? Sharing a Healthier Future',m Pc7RT/[/PiKTIOO