Photo: Salt Camp Reenactors, Seaside, Oregon, 2018. NPS.
On December 28, 1805, five men of the Corps started hiking toward the Pacific coast from Fort Clatsop. All were privates: Joseph Field, William Bratton, George Gibson, Alexander Willard, and Peter Weiser. Their objective was to establish a small salt-making camp. With five of the Expedition’s largest kettles in hand, they decided upon a location near today’s Seaside, Oregon, a distance of approximately 14 miles from the Fort Clatsop.
The camp would operate until February 21, 1806, producing approximately three to four bushels of salt. Personnel would change from time to time, but normally the camp was manned by three men.
