Old Salt Lake
The Old Salt Lake was a historic site in coastal Southern California where sea salt was harvested for barter or sale. Old Salt Lake was a large pond that was 600 ft (180 m) by 1,800 ft (550 m), fed by a natural spring. The lake was 600 ft (180 m) from what is now the Redondo Beach seashore at an elevation of about 10 ft (3.0 m).
| Old Salt Lake | |
|---|---|
 Old Salt Lake Historical Marker | |
| Location | E corner Harbor Dr and Yacht Club Way in Redondo Beach, Ca |
| Coordinates | 33°51′07″N 118°23′49″W |
| Built | 1856 |
| Designated | Sept. 6, 1941 |
| Reference no. | 373 |
  Location of Old Salt Lake in the Los Angeles metropolitan area | |
History
The Old Salt Lake was used by the Chowigna band of Tongva who dug up salt from the bottom. In the 1700s, the Chowigna bartered salt from the old Redondo Salt Lake with other tribes.[1] Their village by the lake was called Onoova-nga or “Place of Salt.”
Spanish Missionaries also dug up salt from the lake in the time of Spanish missions in California.
On December 15, 1854 Manuel Dominguez sold 215 acres (0.87 km2) of the Rancho San Pedro for $500 to Los Angeles businessmen Henry Allanson and William Johnson. The Chowigna who lived near the lake were relocated to missions after the land sale.[1][2][3] [4]
Johnson and Allanson built an evaporation pond and built a boiling house with 48 wood fired kettles to make salt faster than the evaporation pond. Johnson and Allanson exported much of the salt produced by transporting it 10 mi (16 km) overland to the Port of San Pedro.
Johnson and Allanson shut down the salt works in 1862 and sold it to businessman, Frances Mellus. Frances Mellus ran the Pacific Salt Works at the site until 1881. In 1881 Liverpool Salt Works at the Salton Sea, a rival company, purchased Pacific Salt Works and the closed. In 1901 the fire boiler were removed and the buildings were abandoned for almost 20 years; in 1924 all structures at the site were removed.
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The site of Old Salt Lake was designated a California Historic Landmark (No.373) on Sept. 6, 1941.
Southern California Edison built the south Bay power plant on the site in 1948.
In 1955 a granite marker was put up at the site on Harbor Drive near the AES electricity power plant.
In 1998 AES Corporation purchased the power plant. [5][6] [7]
Markers
- State Marker on the site reads:[8]
NO. 373 OLD SALT LAKE - The Indians of this area obtained salt from this lake. Sometime in the 1850s, Johnson and Allanson erected the necessary works to manufacture salt by artificial as well as solar evaporation. The salt yield for 1879 was 450 tons.
- Native Daughters of the Golden West marker put up in 1955 by Tierra del Rey Parlor reads:
This marker locates the site near which the Indians and early California settlers came to obtain their salt, which at many times was more valuable than gold.
See also
- California Historical Landmarks in Los Angeles County
- List of California Ranchos
- Ranchos of Los Angeles County, California
References
- "SOUTH BAY HISTORY: Redondo Beach's salt lake". San Jose Mercury News. 2010-05-20. Retrieved March 15, 2014.
- "AES Power Plant Informational Brief" (PDF). Building a Better Redondo. 2011-07-06. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 26, 2013. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
- "Welcome to the Redondo Beach Historical Museum: A self-guided tour". redondo.org. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
- oldsaltlake.org, Old Salt Lake, official website, a virtual museum
- Los Angeles Star, Volume VI, Number 17, 6 September 1856
- Lacey, Marc (1992-04-17). "An Urban Oasis : Surrounded by condos sits a place the Chowigna Indians once used as a lookout spot. Today, people go there for an escape. - Los Angeles Times". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 15, 2014.
- Brand, Bill. ""Heart Park" Restoring Redondo Beach" (PDF). The Foggy View, Supplement to the March 2005 Southern Sierran, Sierra Club Palos Verdes - South Bay Group / Angeles Chapter. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 16, 2014. Retrieved March 15, 2014.
- californiahistoricallandmarks.com Old Salt Lake, 373
