Event:		Alert: EARLY SALINE HISTORY  [Details]  [More Events]
Description:		Why is our city called Saline? Where are the Salt Springs? Was the Lodi Academy the best school in Michigan? in the Midwest? Who are the historic people named on Community Garden plots? These questions and more will be discussed, including Mastodon Hunters, Mound Builders, Pottawatomie, French, English, German, and American Pioneers. We will look at Saline's agriculture, business, roads and manufacturing, while comparing the 21st century with the 19th century. A walking tour of an old Saline site will take place at 2 p.m. Sunday, July 29. Robert Lane, Instructor and SAHS member. Registration required. Saline Community Education. $20 fee.
Event:		Alert: SATURDAY VISITS AT RENTSCHLER FARM & SALINE RAILROAD DEPOT  [Details]  [More Events]
Description:		With the exception of holiday weekends, free Guided Tours for Individuals and for Families are offered throughout the summer at both the Rentschler Farm and Saline Railroad Depot Museums. Groups larger than ten MUST have a reservation. To schedule groups, call the numbers shown below at least a week ahead.

Generations of Native Americans traveled six trails that converged in the area we call Saline. They came to hunt wildlife for themselves and their families.

And, they came for salt. Native peoples harvested salt from the salt springs and carried it back to their villages for their own use and for trade.

In the 18th century, French voyageurs canoed up the rivers from Lake Erie and left strong evidence that they, too, manufactured salt. They left their mark by naming the local river Saline, the French word for salt.

In the 19th century, Europeans settled here. The greatest numbers came from England, having settled first in New England and Eastern New York, and from Germany. Following the War of 1812, the federal government saw a need for a military road between Detroit and Chicago. A surveyor by the name of Orange Risdon was hired to survey such a road so that in the event of Indian uprisings, the military could move quickly. Risdon liked what he saw in the vicinity of the Saline River and decided to stay.

Together with Risdon, early residents named the village Saline. Through the 19th century, a small number of black families made their home in the village and made their living as farmers. [See History Page].

20th century men and their families continued to increase the size of the village until it was deemed a city in 1966, retaining the same name.

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