Post One

Hi my name is Bria and, as part of my Digital History course that I am taking at California State University, East Bay, this blog will be focusing on the salt industry of what is now known as the Hayward Regional Shoreline.  I would like to first warn you all that this is my first ever blog and it will probably show!  Hopefully that will not stray you away.  Also, I am trying to use this research as a master's project so I welcome constructive criticism and any additional information that is found regarding the topics that may or may not come up.

To properly introduce this local history we must see how it all began and understand the importance of that initial starting point.  The salt industry really started when John Johnson came to the East Bay in 1858 buying up land that is north of what is now the San Mateo/Hayward Bridge.  Johnson built one of the first commercial solar evaporation ponds by diking the marshes and lower areas of his land, producing salt, and selling it north to San Francisco for processing and distribution.  Just ten years after Johnson arrived in the East Bay there were over 17 small family salt operations from the San Lorenzo Creek to the Alameda Creek.  Following Johnson, Andrew August Ohleson (later changing his name to Oliver), a sailor from Sweden, moved to the East Bay Area after a failed attempt in finding gold during California's Gold Rush.  Oliver started his salt production in 1866 and had his first full-fledged year of harvest in 1872, the same year he started his business the Acme Salt Company.  Years later following Oliver's death his wife Elsa renamed the business the Oliver Salt Company and his son, Adolph, and his brother, Otto, took over the family enterprise.  In 1927 the Oliver's sold their company and was absorbed by the Leslie Salt Company.  Seven years later Adolph's sons, Adolph Jr. and Alden, bought the land that was once owned by John Johnson and formed the Oliver Brothers Salt Company that existed until 1982.  The Oliver family had been providing salt to the San Francisco Bay Area for over 100 years.

These last few years I have become a sort of nomad--actually, wandering gnome would probably fit as a better description--moving from place to place as my education sees fit.  With all of the moves I have found it important to explore the areas in which I live and the histories that come with those places.  If you look close enough there are traces of the past in our surroundings.   These seemingly unimportant histories continue to stand out.  It's crazy to see that all of this history is so close yet. due to our busy lives, we often forget to take a closer look.  Maybe it's time to start looking?