Salt Museum, Liverpool, NY

Liverpool, New York has a few attractions that will bring visitors to their doors. One place is the Salt Museum. The Salt Museum is along a lake in Onodaga County. Though the mine is no longer in use one can still smell the odor of the salt marsh on summer days. The museum is a place that depicts the history of the salt marsh and its mining. The exhibits which are part of the museum are in one building which used to belong to the old salt warehouses.

The building like its artifacts is rather old which adds to the history of the place. It has been renovated a little bit to make it habitable, but it still keeps its old rustic charm. Represented throughout the whole museum is the extraction of salt ranging from how it was discovered, to what tools were required, and why it was eventually given up.

Even though one can say that this area contained salt mines, it actually took very little mining to gain the salt. The salt was so prevalent on the surface one didn't really need to dig too hard. It also made the process fairly dull as they used boiling kettles with Onodaga Lake Brine to get the salt.

The most important exhibit is the boiling block. This block is a floor with a dozen sunken kettles. The scene in the museum has cutouts of men who stand there with big wooden ladles. They depict how the salt water would be stirred in order to get the salt out of the water. The museum also states that the task of the salt boiler was fairly dangerous because of burns from splashing brine or if they accidentally fell into the boiling kettles. These kettles were definitely not small.

To reach the museum one must travel to Onodaga Lake Parkway in Liverpool, New York. It is possible by taking I-90 to Route 370 and on to the Parkway. The hours will differ from season to season, and it is typically open during the summer the longest. There is a small price to see the museum.

Those who do travel to Liverpool and its Salt Museum also take advantage of the beauty surrounding the area. It is possible to walk near the lake and just explore the outdoor world. However, it will not take all day to visit the museum. This means visitors might wish to head to the Muffler Man, Victorian House atop a Factory, Green on Top Traffic Light or the Pink Elephant which are all in the same area.

The museum is based on the 1700's and 1800's when salt mining in New York was very popular. The Erie Canal and other places near Syracuse, New York were targets for salt mining. Even such things like the famous salt potatoes will be explained at the museum for visitors. Syracuse is still well known for these potatoes so visitors can even try one if they have a mind, though they are very small potatoes.