During the Civil War, salt production in Florida was vital to keeping the Confederacy supplied with long-lasting sources of perishable food, such as meat and fish.

The Union strategy of cutting off supplies from the north and blockading southern ports deeply impacted the Confederate governments' ability to import salt. By 1863, production was left to the coastal state of Florida.

With government incentives, salt work operations sprang up quickly along the state's coastline. In response, the Union navy was given the task of shutting these salt works down. But, the job proved impossible, because as soon one such operation was destroyed, it simply relocated to a different spot along the vast coast and resumed production.

An archaeological survey in 1977 uncovered the remains of a typical Civil War salt work on Salt Island in Cedar Key along Waccasassa Bay. The discovery by Archaeologist Martin Dickinson included furnaces and five iron kettles.

Written and produced by the Florida Public Archaeology Network, WUWF Public Media, and narrated by Dr. Judy Bense. Image provided by the Florida Memory Project.