The Lure of Salt
In 1773 Captain Thomas Bullitt was in Kentucky surveying land for others. He visited a salt lick near Salt River and included it in his surveys. Later the salt lick and the stream it was on would be named for him.
It is doubtful that Captain Bullitt was the first pioneer to see the salt lick. Hunters, Indian and non-Indian alike, had come here to hunt the animals that flocked here to lick the salt from the ground.
Today we take salt more or less for granted. But to the wilderness pioneer it was very important. He used it to preserve meat. In the beginning his main source of food was game. With salt he could preserve the meat he did not eat at once. Without salt that meat would spoil. This meant that without salt he would have to spend most of his time hunting to feed himself and his family.
If he had to spend most of his time hunting, he would have little time to clear land, plant crops, or build a house. Salt gave him that time. It is safe to say that without salt the pioneers would have found it almost impossible to stay in Kentucky and face the Indians.
And, that salt had to be in Kentucky. It was not practical to transport salt from the east over the mountains. Besides, the eastern communities could not supply it. They were embattled in a revolt against Great Britain. Great Britain had blockaded the ports of the eastern colonies. This had cut off their normal supplies of salt.
Salt was available in several parts of Kentucky. The main source of salt in Kentucky from 1779 until early in the 1800`s would be this very area. The other sources were minor compared to it.