SALT ON THE OHIO VALLEY FRONTIER, 1770–1820¹

ABSTRACT

Salt, available at natural springs, seasonally attracted great herds of bison which through years of repetitious movement carved an extensive system of buffalo traces: avenues used by Anglo-Americans in settling portions of the Ohio Valley. Frontier settlement concentrated in areas of salt availability as the vital dietary element proved necessary to sustain livestock and to prepare meats, thus providing the frontier farmer with an export commodity. Salt was used as a medium of exchange enabling merchants to pursue a diversified commerce centered in urban places; indeed, the salt trade, more than any other commercial activity, sustained the Valley's early urban structure.