Lyons Salt Mine, 1915
[written on back of picture]: "This picture was taken in 1915 at Lyons, KS. This is a group of teachers from Rice Co., Ks. At this time this salt mine was the deepest one in the world. It was just at ¼ mile deep. This layer of salt was 15 ft. thick. One above it was 17 ft. thick. Salt rocks were blasted & "picked" - loaded in little steel cars - pulled by a single small mule, over a steel double rail to the elevators & taken up for processing into different uses - blocks for stock use, table, coarse for meat, rock salt for pickling & ice cream, etc. Black cord in forefront is electric cable. There was a time limit for keeping a mule in mine - had to be replaced by a new one. They were soon replaced by electric-fun cars."