Posted in West Virginia
April 27, 2022
The One Spring Festival In West Virginia That’s Worthy Of Your Bucket List Every Year
One of West Virginia’s newest annual festivals is steeped in one of the richest eras of state history. Don’t miss the chance to check this West Virginia spring festival out at J. Q. Dickinson Salt Works in May!


Salt manufacturing became one of West Virginia's earliest industries: production from the Kanawha Valley supplied the country through the War of 1812, and by the 1830s, the area was the nation's center of salt production, especially supporting the nearby meat-packing industry in Cincinnati.

However, after many decades of productivity, various factors led to the demise of the Kanawha Valley salt industry, including the discovery of brine fields elsewhere in the country, the shift of the meat-packing industry farther west, a massive Kanawha River flood in 1861 that destroyed many of the local salt operations, and - primarily - the havoc wreaked by the Civil War. After the war, the Kanawha Valley Bank - West Virginia's first state bank and the predecessor of BB&T Bank - was founded to help fund efforts to restart the salt industry in the region. One of the Kanawha Valley Bank's founders was William Dickinson Jr., son of the founder of Dickinson Salt Works.

This spring, BB&T and the J. Q. Dickinson Salt Works team up once again for a fun festival to commemorate the crucial role of salt in West Virginia life and history.



Don’t miss the BB&T Malden Salt Fest this spring! This West Virginia spring festival has been named a Top 20 Event in the Southeast by the Southeast Tourism Society. It’s that good.
Love spring festivals? There’s also the Strawberry Festival coming up soon…
Address: 4797 Midland Dr, Malden, WV 25306, USA