DID YOU KNOW?  Although the cranberry industry was one of the first in Wareham, the town’s early history demonstrates a thriving community of various industrial ventures.  Did you know that salt was an important commodity and one of the first successful industries in Wareham?  The early settlers boiled sea water to get the salt, but it took three hundred gallons of sea water to make one bushel of salt. Greater amounts were needed, especially during the Revolutionary War. Larger kettles were made to help increase production, but this was still not the most efficient method. In 1806 evaporation became the dominant means of producing salt with sea water being pumped by windmills through hollow logs into large wooden vats that were spread over the marsh above tidal waters. The sun evaporated the water leaving the salt behind. Thousands of these vats could be found throughout the town. Salt was produced in Pigs Point, Leonard’s Salt Works, the Nobska Works, Barney’s Point, Little Harbor, Griffin’s Field, Tom’s Narrows, Henry’s Creek, Old Pan, Muddy Cove and Swift’s Beach.  Production grew so much that in 1842, a Measurer of Salt and Grain was appointed who was required to inspect the salt works.