Times of the Islands Summer 2022

astrolabe newsletter of the Turks & Caicos National Museum
Year Tons Exported Year Tons Exported
1872 65,393 1955 13,817
1894 77,203 1960 31,717
1935 28,950 1964 8,271
1939 50,256 1970 2,650 (Salt Cay only)
1950 9,553
NOTE: There are approximately 28 bushels of course
salt in a ton. A ton weighed 2,240 pounds.
Competition from lower cost producers having larger
solar salt operations, mechanized processing techniques,
and salt extracted from underground mines all contributed
to the demise of the salt industry on the Turks &
Caicos Islands.
At the end of 1964 it was decided to end salt production
on Grand Turk and Cockburn Harbour. The
government subsidized salt production on Salt Cay for
the next 10 years because there was no other form of
employment on the island. Salt operations ceased on Salt
Cay in 1975.
For 300 years, salt was the primary industry on the
Turks & Caicos Islands. When salt production ended in
the 1960s, there was nothing to replace it. Hoping that
tourism might replaced some of the jobs lost, the government
opened the Turks Head Inn on Grand Turk in 1965.
Prior to 1967, Providenciales was a quiet island
made up of three small settlements with a total population
of around 600 to 700 people. Tourism on “Provo”
got its start in 1967 when a
development company called
Provident Ltd. leased 4,000
acres from the government
for the construction of an airstrip
and terminal building
as well as roads and a hotel
(Third Turtle Inn). However,
tourism really took off on
Providenciales in 1984 with
the construction of Club Med
Turkoise. Tourism continues
to be the economic driver on
the Turks & Caicos Islands
today. a
Top right: A postcard showing men
loading a lighter with bags of salt.
Bottom right: This postcard depicts
workers off-loading bags of salt
from a lighter to a freighter anchored off shore. Staging is set-up to allow the crew to hoist 40 pound bags from man to man up to the vessel’s
deck.
Times of the Islands Summer 2022 71