The Salt Reservations (also known as the Salt Lands) were a collection of land tracts surrounding

salt spring A brine spring or salt spring is a saltwater spring. Brine springs are not necessarily associated with halite deposits in the immediate vicinity. They may occur at valley bottoms made of clay and gravel which became soggy with brine seeped downslo ...

s in

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and some other states that were donated to the states by the federal government early in the 19th century. The

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had acquired the lands northwest of the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

at the 1783

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after the

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, and these lands were finally open to settlement. Leaders knew that in frontier lands such as the Ohio Country,

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...

was a precious and scarce commodity, especially for preserving meat in an era before refrigeration. Americans knew from explorers and Indians of the presence of springs of water containing salt. So that no one would buy the land upon which salt springs sat, and thus acquire a monopoly of a rare necessity of life, the national government reserved land from public sale on which salt springs were found.

Federal Action

In 1796, Congress passed two pieces of legislation to regulate the surveying and sale, or other dispersal, of public lands northwest of the Ohio river, that had not yet been sold or surveyed. The first of these was the Land Act of May 18, 1796 This act called for the land to be surveyed into townships on a side, arranged in a checkerboard pattern, and further divided into sections of square that will be sold to the public. Section 3 of this act states "That a salt spring lying upon a creek which empties into the Sciota river, on the east side, and as many contiguous sections as shall be equal to one township, and every other salt spring which may be discovered, together with the section of one mile square which includes it ... shall be reserved, for the future disposal of the United States." Subsequent surveys identified two additional salt springs near the

Muskingum River The Muskingum River (Shawnee: ') is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately long, in southeastern Ohio in the United States. An important commercial route in the 19th century, it flows generally southward through the eastern hill country o ...

. The second relevant congressional action in 1796 was the creation of the

United States Military District The United States Military District was a land tract in central Ohio that was established by the Congress to compensate veterans of the American Revolutionary War for their service. The tract contains in Noble, Guernsey, Tuscarawas, Muskingum, ...

in eastern Ohio. The government did not have adequate funds to pay soldiers during the Revolutionary War. Instead, they were promised land grants, called bounties, dependent on rank, after the conclusion of the war. The Act of June 1, 1796 set aside a district, described how to survey it, and how to distribute the bounties. Section 1 of this act also reserved tracts, in this act, (squares 2 ½ miles on a side), around any salt springs that might be found. Subsequent surveys revealed one salt spring in what is now Delaware county. Around the turn of the century, the population of the territory increased to the point that statehood became the next logical step. On April 30, 1802, the Ohio Enabling Act set forth the boundaries of the new state and arranged for election of delegates to a state constitutional convention to meet later that year. The Second proposition of Section 7 of the act states "That the six mile reservation, including the salt springs, commonly called the Scioto salt springs, the salt springs near the Muskingum river, and in the military tract, with the sections of land which include the same, shall be granted to the said state for the use of the people thereof, the same to be used under such terms and conditions and regulations as the legislature of the said state shall direct: Provided, the said legislature shall never sell nor lease the same for a longer period than ten years."

State Action

The state legislature provided for leasing these lands for salt production. They were cared for by agents, and rental was charged for the right to make salt. In 1803 the rental was three cents per year for each gallon of kettle capacity used in boiling the water. The rental rate declined periodically, until by 1810, the rental rate was just five mills (½ cent). The Scioto salt springs were extensively developed. The salt was carried by pack horse to settlements, and sold for up to eight dollars per hundred pounds in 1801. The salt springs on the Muskingum were also worked, but the Delaware county springs invited little attention.

Tract Location

Scioto Salt Reservation

The reservation was in the survey called the

Congress Lands East of Scioto River The Congress Lands East of Scioto River was a land tract in southern Ohio that was established by the Congress late in the 18th century. It is located south of the United States Military District and Refugee Tract, west of the Old Seven Ranges, ...

in present-day

Jackson County, Ohio Jackson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the ...

. It consisted of eight sections of township 6, range 18, four sections of township 6, range 19, sixteen sections of township 7, range 18, and eight sections of township 7, range 19. By 1816, a settlement had grown around the spring, and Ohio wished to form Jackson county. They petitioned Congress to allow sale of a section of salt land to pay for a county courthouse. The Act of April 16, 1816 allowed this action, and section 29 of township 7 of range 18 was sold for $7,169.00 and the town of

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was erected there. The remainder of the reserve was surveyed into tracts, numbered in each township in a like manner as the sections.

Muskingum Salt Reservations

The reservations were two sections of land in

Muskingum County, Ohio Muskingum County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 86,410. Its county seat is Zanesville. Nearly bisected by the Muskingum River, the county name is based on a Delaware American Indian ...

, section 13 of township 13 of range 12 , and section 9 of township 11 of range 13 of the

Delaware Salt Reservation

The reservation was a four thousand acre (16 km²) tract of land in

Delaware County, Ohio Delaware County is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Ohio. It is a frequent placeholder on the List of highest-income counties in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 214,124. Its county seat i ...

consisting of quarter 1 of township 5 of range 18 of the

Sale of Salt Lands

By 1824, salt springs had been found to be not so rare as previously thought, and worries over monopolization diminished. Ohio petitioned Congress to sell the rest of the salt lands. The Act of December 28, 1824 allowed this sale, with "the proceeds thereof to be applied to such literary purposes as the legislature may hereafter direct; and to no other use, intent, or purpose whatsoever." - Text of Act of December 28, 1824

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Other States

Some other states were granted six sections around each salt spring as in the table, which may be incomplete.

Saline Lands Act

In 1877, Congress changed the treatment of saline lands. The Act of January 12, 1877 - Text of Act of January 12, 1877

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was called An act providing for the sale of Saline lands. It provided that any lands determined by the officers of a land office to be saline in character

References

External links

Ohio History Central- Salt Sections
{{Ohio-Lands Former regions and territories of the United States Geography of Ohio Pre-statehood history of Ohio Delaware County, Ohio Jackson County, Ohio Muskingum County, Ohio United States federal public land legislation