Welcome Home, {{first_name|default:Michigander}}!
A quick reminder: As a newsletter subscriber, you get exclusive early access to my first physical product launch this Friday, October 2nd at 5:05 PM ET—three days before the public launch on October 5th. Until then, let’s get to today's Michigan history!
MI Moments 🎬
🧂 The Detroit Salt Mine & Road System
Detroit sits on top of a 100-mile underground road system carved 1,200 feet below the surface.
In 1910, the Detroit Salt Company completed a 1,060-foot shaft through bedrock to reach a massive salt layer.
The 400-million-year-old salt bed spans 1,500 acres beneath southwest Detroit, Dearborn, and Melvindale.
Today, this network continues producing road salt for Michigan highways right under our feet.
Bonus History: Shaft construction began in 1906 requiring workers to freeze water-bearing rock before reaching the salt layer in 1910.
The original shaft was deepened to 1,160 feet in 1912 to work a higher-purity salt bed, pushing production past 8,000 tons per month by 1914.
In 1922, construction began on a 2nd mining shaft (completed in 1925) to expand hoisting capacity and lower heavy equipment.
Although operations were suspended in 1983 due to falling salt prices, commercial mining resumed in 1998 to supply deicing products across North America.
MI Photo 📸
Inside a Salt Mine
Detroit Publishing Company photograph collection (Library of Congress) - Circa 1915 to 1925
MI Spotlight 🔎
Social Comment: Facebook
“I used to work there. I can tell you all about it. When I went down the skip every day, it was a 4 mile cart ride to the work area and it’s probably one of the safest mines in North America. Everything that goes down equipment wise never comes back up, there is 100 year old rail lines that run in the old works.”
Kyle G. on our Detroit Salt Mine video. Thank you for sharing with us, Kyle!
MI Trivia 🤔
Tip: Click or tap on your guess to see if you got it right!
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Until next week, thank you for reading Michigan History Digest.
— Zac, Creator of Welcome Home History
