Salt and Revolution: The Saltworks of Cape Cod in the 18th Century

Join historian Bob Kelley of the Historical Society of Old Yarmouth for a fascinating talk on the saltworks developed on the uplands at Sesuit Creek in the East Precinct of Yarmouth. He will discuss why the Atlantic coast was unable to produce salt as efficiently as European countries, how the 1775 Prohibitory Act of Parliament inspired Capt. John Sears to experiment with solar salt production on the eve of the Revolution, and how, in 1785, the hand pump from the wreck of the Somerset became part of that development.

Bob will explain how salt production shaped the region’s economy for more than 80 years—with help from tariffs enacted by Congress beginning in 1789—and identify the first saltmakers whose innovations fueled this vital industry. He will also explore how solar salt production enabled the rapid spread of the Sears and Hattil Killey patents throughout the Cape after 1799, and why the industry began to decline in the mid-1800s.

[Image credit: The old salt works, South Yarmouth, Mass. Digital Commonwealth, Historical Society of Old Yarmouth Image Collection. ]

Bob Kelley of South Yarmouth began his career as a manager of small manufacturing facilities in northern New Jersey for 13 years. He was a former corporate director for the Slim-Fast Foods Company for 20 years, V.P. Operations for Stein World, LLC 8 years, retiring in 2018. Bob is a commissioner with the Yarmouth Historic Commission, current President of the Historical Society of Old Yarmouth, and a tenth-generation Yarmouth Quaker descended from David OKillea of Kelley’s Bay on Bass River. He is a researcher and writer of the local history of South Yarmouth, with a heavy concentration in the subjects of genealogy, saltworks, Quakers, and the Indigenous Peoples of that town.

Bob has tracked the origins of solar salt production and discovered over three hundred saltworks-related deeds in Dennis and Yarmouth. He will produce a reference, picture and history book in early 2027 on Yarmouth Saltworks.

Pop-Up! Cape Cod Saltworks joins us at the Museum

Cape Cod Saltworks will join us at the museum with a selection of their handcrafted salts available for sampling. Using a time-honored process, seawater collected daily from Nantucket Sound is slowly evaporated by sunlight in their Chatham greenhouses, producing their distinctive, flavorful sea salts.

This event is presented in conjunction with Old Yarmouth: Life During the American Revolution April 9 - July 19, 2026

Title Sponsor:

Eastern Bank

Patron Sponsors

Bank of America 

Dennis Historical Society

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Contributing Sponsors

Sons of the American Revolution, Cape & Islands Chapter 

Daughters of the American Revolution, Capt. Joshua Gray-Jonathan Hatch Chapter

Cancellation Policy: A one-week advance cancellation notice is required in order to receive a refund.