Animals and people have been visiting Saltville, Virginia for over 14,000 years starting with mastodons, woolly mammoths, giant sloths, and musk oxen. Before that all kinds of creatures lived in the sea that covered the entire valley basin. When the sea dried up it left vast salt deposits which were mostly buried under sediment but the accessible salt was a big draw for animals, Native Americans, European explorers and settlers, and finally huge chemical factories who all came for the salt.
The small museum gives an overall history of the area with exhibits of mastodon bones, Native American artifacts, 1850s salt works, Civil War battles, and the rise of a company town. The company town is portrayed as idyllic but in the 1970s the chemical plants shut down for various reasons including pollution concerns and cheaper production in the western states. Salt is stilled mined for food and industrial use.
Parking spaces in front of the museum are angled but there's a parking lot across the street where RVs will fit if parked across the spaces. There are also accessible spaces parallel to the sidewalk in front of the library. The curb cuts do not match up so rolling in the street may be necessary. Museum 36.88012, -81.76416
No comments:
Post a Comment