Leslie Salt facts for kids
The Leslie Salt Company was a big company that made salt. It was located in the San Francisco Bay Area in California. They had large areas of land in places like Newark and Hayward.
Making Salt in the Bay Area
The Leslie Salt Company made salt using a special method. They used large, shallow pools of water called salt evaporation ponds. These ponds were built along the edges of the San Francisco Bay.
How did it work? The sun and wind would naturally dry up the bay water in these ponds. As the water evaporated, the salt was left behind. This was a natural and effective way to collect salt.
A Growing Company
By the 1940s, the Leslie Salt Company became very large. The Schilling family owned most of the company. They owned more private land than anyone else in the Bay Area.
The company kept growing. By 1959, Leslie Salt was making a huge amount of salt. They produced over one million tons of salt every year! This salt came from more than 26,000 acres (11,000 ha) of their salt ponds. That's a lot of land, all used for making salt!
Changes Over Time
The Leslie Salt Company continued to operate for many years. However, in 1978, another big company bought them. This company was called Cargill. After this, the salt ponds became part of Cargill's operations.
