While primarily known originally for its part in Michigan’s lumber industry, Manistee, Michigan is home to another thriving industry that of salt. Salt deposits leftover from the large primordial seas that at one time covered Michigan can be found throughout various parts of the state. Once such large deposit can be found in the area of Manistee. This deposit has allowed for a thriving chemical/salt industry to grow in the area. One such Manistee Salt Mill staple, Hardy Salt (a/k/a Manistee Salt Works), was started outside of the State of Michigan. In 1914 Mr. Thomas Hardy Sr., a salesman with the Morton Salt Company in St. Louis, MO, left Morton and founded his own salt packing and distribution company. The business would rapidly grow and the Hardy Salt Company was incorporated in 1916 in Missouri.

In the 1930s Thomas Hardy purchased and built Manistee Salt Works (a subsidiary of the Hardy Salt Co.) This purchase would go on to pay out ten-fold and more and become the site of all salt manufacturing for the company in a few short years. By the mid 1930s, its annual  distribution of salt across the US reached approximately 100,000 tons. The company would also go on to be the sole manufacturer of brine in its first 10 years of operation.

Hardy Salt, a/k/a Manistee Salt Works, would also become a major innovator in the salt industry. Their innovations included: the first set of quintuple-effect evaporators used in salt production, the introduction of flaked salt to the food industry, and the repackaging of table salt in paper bags instead of cotton.

The Hardy family would continue to own and operate Hardy Salt, a/k/a Manistee Salt Works, facility until 1980 when it was purchased by the Diamond Crystal Salt company out of the Port Huron, Michigan area. Several staffing and operational cuts were made in the 1980s. In 1987, Hardy Salt and Diamond Crystal were purchased by Akzo Noble. The salt mill would remain in operation until about 1995. It was then that salt production ceased, and the physical plant was sold several times to various chemical companies. The plant was recently demolished in 2007.

The Hardy Salt Plant consisted of numerous buildings and departments including a Powerhouse to produce steam and electricity for the production of salt.  Another department was known as the Pan house for the production of salt. There was also a warehouse, automotive repair shop, and maintenance storeroom. The vast majority of the buildings were built with asbestos roofing and siding.

The Powerhouse had three boilers and one steam driven turbine generator for producing the steam and electricity. The boilers were built in 1946, 1963, and 1965. Each boiler was fired by coal and had stokers for feeding the boilers. Eventually one of the boilers was converted to gas fired fuel system. In addition there was a deareator, feedwater, chemical and ash handling systems for the operation of the boiler. There was also smaller steam driven turbines that powered pumps and fans for the boiler system. The boilers and turbines were inspected yearly and would have to be rebuilt every few years. There were also compressors in the powerhouse.  Asbestos blankets, gaskets, packing, insulation, castables, cements, refractories and other asbestos materials were utilized in the Powerhouse.

The Pan house had ten vacuum pan evaporators, large insulated vessels filled with brine that was boiled and large dryers to produce refined table salt. The original evaporators were manufactured by Manistee Iron Works. From the Pan house the salt goes to the Refinery department to be packaged. The Pan house had piping systems for the steam used to heat the evaporators, water and salt piping systems which included numerous pumps and valves. There were numerous steam driven fans,  pumps and  also turbines on the filters to draw water out of the brine.  The Pan house also utilized asbestos materials including blankets, gaskets, packing, insulation, cements and other asbestos materials were located thru out the department.