Grant & Company in Salt Works
 

By Margaret Strebel Hartman, Historian
 

"Grant and Company in Salt Works" was created by a contract made and entered into between John Grant, James Taylor and John Breckinridge on July 18, 1804;  however John Grant had been involved in making salt prior to this date.

Keturah Taylor Jones, granddaughter of James and Keturah Moss Taylor of Newport, in her History of Campbell County in 1876, indicates that early in the 1790s salt water was found at Grants Lick by Samuel Bryant, who in conjunction with John Grant and Charles Morgan, sank a well and began the manufacture of salt.  The earliest reference in the court records of Campbell County of Grant being in the business of making salt in on September 28, 1797 when he sent Elias Roberts to "Mr. Sandusky", or the acting agent at Big Bone Lick, to obtain as many "salt kittles as he can bring perhaps twelve in whole."  Elias, and John Roberts who went with him, received from Jacob Sodowsky, as the agent for Thomas Carnel, 14 kettles; weight 1134 pounds.  John Grant and John Roberts were a company to make salt.

As Grant was in need of additional kettles, he sent Samuel Bryan to obtain 8 kettles from "Mr. Sandusky" at Big Bone on October 19.  These kettles weighed 730 pounds. 

The usual method to obtain salt was to dig 10 or 15 feet through sand and mud in the bed or edge of a river or creek using slave labor.  When they came to a rock, the boring commenced with a 2 1/2 or 3" auger, with which they bored about 60 to 90 feet through solid rock, passing perhaps several veins of fresh water in that distance. The water was kept from the salt by means of tin pipes introduced into the holes from bottom to top and tightly caulked at top where they entered the gum, as it was called.  This gum, though made of hollow sycamore, acted as a coffer-dam within which a Negro man worked through the mud and sand, while it sank with him to the surface of the rock, where its lower edge was tightly secured all around, admitting neither mud or water from below and extending upwards beyond the high water mark.  Into this gum entered the tin pike introducing the salt water from its hidden reservoir.  Into the gum, pumps were fixed, which were either worked by slave or horse power, and the water conveyed from these in open troughs to the kettles, which were placed in a double row under a shed, and over a long hole cut in the ground, into which wood was cast for boiling and evaporating the water.

A furnace of 60 kettles when ready for operation, cost $1500, and 4 slaves were sufficient when the water was pumped by hand, to keep a furnace of this kind going besides 2 or 3 others engaged in cutting and hauling wood.  Usually it took from 250 to 900 gallons of water to make a bushel of salt.

Lowell H Harrison in his book, John Breckinridge, Jeffersonian Republican", tells us that "the brackish water had to be poured into 25 gallon kettles which straddled a long, narrow fire trench ten feet deep at the furnace end and four feet deep at the chimney.  All openings around the kettles were chinked with clay, and cordwood was fed into the trench.  Three such fires consumed seven cords of wood in a day and required the efforts of three {Negro} men and two yoke of oxen.  As the water evaporated in the kettles nearest the fie the residue had to be ladled into the one nearest the chimney and the empty ones refilled.  Lime, blood, tallow or corn meal was usually added to aid crystallization and to ensure good texture and color.  The services of at least two men were required at the kettles with the average daily output amounting to twelve bushels."

Roads to and from the salt works were a necessity and on January 16, 1799, John Grant requested that a road be built from Reed's Tavern on Dry Ridge to his salt works.  On April 8, Charles McLaughlin, Joseph Dickens and Francis Spilman were to act as viewers to view and mark out the nearest and best way for a road from Grants Salt Works to Newport.  Also on the same day, George Riddle, Drummond Wheeler and John Taylor were to view and mark out the nearest and best way from the forks of Harris' Creek to Grants Salt Works.

Archer Dickerson on October 3, 1803 entered into an agreement with John Grant whereby John agreed to pay to him the sum of $2000 for Dickerson "to fix up a furnace containing 30 kettles in one month at his own expense for the purpose of boiling water at Grants salt lick on Philip's Creek" and Dickerson was to allow Grant 200 bushels of salt at the rate of $3 per bushel.

Dickerson was given the right to cut and use the wood from Grant's lands for the purpose of boiling salt water, the use of all the cabins on the north side of Phillip's Creek and the enclosed ground was to be considered as pasture in common.  He was to give Grant on entire furnace of 30 kettles "as soon as the sum of $2000 was discharged."  Grant could erect kettles for his own use, but if the present well or wells did not provide sufficient salt water, he and Dickerson were to share the expenses in digging to find sufficient water. Profits were to be divided equally until "the expiration of four weeks at which time the works was to be given up to Grant to his sole use, etc."

In November 1799 Solomon "Trewsdale", Jonathan Carmack, Henry Boyles, William Gosney, or any three or them, were appointed by the county court to view and mark out a road from the salt works to the mouth of Wells Creek, now Twelve Mile Creek.  On of the problems that Grant was to have was the claims of persons to the lands his lick was on.  It is not clear from the records whether a number of wells were drilled or if the claims were based on the water under the ground flowing to his wells.

On November 5, 1803, Benjamin Beall, claiming that the salt works was on his land, made an agreement with Grant that was to cost Grant $2000, one half was to be paid in salt at $2 a bushel.

James Taylor from Newport on October 10, 1803 wrote to:

The Honorable John Breckenridge Esq.
Senator in Congress
City of Washington

" A most remarkable discovery of Salt water is made at Grants Lick that perhaps is in the state.  A Well was dug last fall about 40 feet and good water obtained, but in small quantity, a man to whom Grant had rented boared about 18 feet thro a rock with a 2 Inch auger and broke into a fountain of Salt water that has risen 27 feet in the Well and its is said by actual experiment makes a bushel of Salt every 160 gallons and it is thot there is a sufficiency of water to boil 500 kettles...I have not ben at the lick my self but my brother has and I have seen Benja Beall and several other persons who all agree o the acct as to the quantity and strength of the water...."

On December 10, 1803 Bartlett Collins also wrote to Breckinridge that "Colonel Grant has found the best Salt water in the state.  They make a Bushel of Salt from about 130 gallons of water, and Colonel Johnson has rented it from Grant at 50 dollars or 25 Bushells Salt per day and in 3 or 4 days will make 100 bushells per day."

Charles Daniel was the next person to settle a claim with Grant for land.  ON May 23, 1804 for 500 bushels of salt, Charles sold his one fourth interest in three tracts of land containing a total of 2300 acres and his one fourth part of an undivided half of a tract of 1007 acres; all of the tracts of land included the salt works on Phillip's Creek.  Again a claim was made on Grant.  This claim brought into existence "Grant & Company In Salt Works".  James Taylor of Newport and John Breckinridge of Fayette County, became his partners through an agreement made July 18, 1804 in order to "adjust and settle amicably and finally without the delay and expense of law suits all disputes and difficulties created by the interference of their respective claims."  John Grant retained control of the company by being given two shares in the company while Taylor and Breckinridge each had one.

In October Robert Johnson prevented the well diggers from quitting the well before "Bryants door", despite the efforts of Bryan to get them to quit and move to the Dickerson well.  Want of powder was the reason for the delay.  Squire Grant and William Dickerson conducted a store at Grants Lick, when it was established is not known.  In 1804 John Brown Lindsey bought out Squire's interest and continued in partnership with Dickerson until the fall of 1808. 

John Grant moved to Boone County after the purchase of a tract of land on the Ohio River containing 470 acres, known as Tanner's Station from Philamon Thomas on January 3, 1805.  Samuel Bryan was granted a license to keep a tavern at his home at Colonel Grant's salt works on February 18, 1805.

A claim against Grant & Co in Salt Works by Peter Guerrant of Buckingham County, Virginia, brought another partner into the company and a new agreement was made December 2, 1805.  By this agreement, Guerrant received 16 shares, Grant 10, Taylor and Breckinridge 5 each, but each man had only one vote.  Either in the winter of 1806 or the spring of 1807, Grant moved his family from Kentucky to within 3 miles of Shawnetown, Illinois.

On December 14, 1806 John Breckinridge died, and two days later Grant mortgaged his interest in the land of Grants Lick to his son-in-law, John J Flourney to cover a loan.  Flournoy was to have "all the profits and advantages of the salt works and salt lick and wells.  Provided that the said John J Flournoy not enter the lands and possessions until the 1st day of March".  In 1809 Grant's interest was sold at a commissioner's sale in Boone County to settle a debt of John and William M Grant for $700.  Flournoy bid $300 and it was sold to him.

By 1813 John Grant retuned to live in Campbell County, and on September 10, 1816, he sold his interest to James Taylor for $5000.  On January 1, 1823 Francis T Helm and James B Taliaferro rented it for three years.

James Taylor died November 7, 1848 and his executor, James Taylor Jr. brought a suit against the heirs of Breckinridge and Guerrant on November 29, 1856 to dissolve the company and divide the assets and debts.  In the front yard of Cooper Funeral Home on U.S. 27 in Grants Lick in the remains of a salt well that has been preserved over the years.

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