Salt Flats of Pilgrim Lake

The salt drew the first settlers to this corner of the county in the 1820s: extensive flats lay along Salt Stream and Salt Creek. The lake beside them took its name from Thomas J. Pilgrim, the educator who had been granted the land it lay on. A post office called Salt Stream operated here from 1855 to 1857, before the Pilgrim Lake office opened in 1879. Later decades thinned the community to about twenty-five people by 1920, and by 1940 it had one business, a church and a cemetery among scattered houses.

What the plaque says

Salt Flats of Pilgrim Lake Long before the arrival of Spaniards or Anglo-Americans, this natural salt source was probably utilized by native Indians. Although not produced in great quantities, salt was processed here by pioneers in the 1800s. In damp weather, salty "dew" forms on the flats. (1969)

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• Community of Pilgrim — 1.8 mi
• Pilgrim Presbyterian Church — 2.5 mi
• Community of Wrightsboro — 5.2 mi
• First Shot of the Texas Revolution — 8.4 mi