Morton Salt
An American salt producer and brand known for table salt, industrial salt products, and its umbrella-carrying Morton Salt Girl.
Last updated October 30, 2026
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Overview
Morton Salt is an American salt producer and marketer with roots reaching back to 1848, when Alonzo Richmond established Richmond & Company in Chicago as a sales agency for salt producers in New York State. The business later became associated with Joy Morton, who joined the company in the 1880s, invested in lake transportation, and helped expand its position as both a salt merchant and manufacturer. It was incorporated as Morton Salt Company in 1910. The company operates across several segments of the salt industry. Its consumer business includes table salt, iodized salt, kosher salt, sea salt, seasoning products, and reduced-sodium offerings. It also supplies salt for food manufacturing, water conditioning, agriculture, chemical processing, livestock, de-icing, and highway maintenance. Production has historically relied on underground rock-salt mining, solar evaporation, and solution or evaporated salt processes. The company has operated mines, evaporation sites, packaging plants, research facilities, and distribution infrastructure in North America and the Bahamas. Morton Salt became especially prominent through two linked product and marketing innovations. In 1911, the company added an anti-caking agent to help table salt pour in humid conditions. That technical improvement supported the advertising idea behind the phrase “When it rains it pours,” introduced with the company’s umbrella-bearing girl in 1914. The Morton Salt Girl depicts a child walking through rain while carrying an open umbrella and scattering salt from a cylindrical container. She has been revised several times and became one of the most recognizable American advertising symbols. The brand marked the character’s centennial in 2014 with events, educational awards, social-media activities, and other public programs. Morton also played a role in the expansion of iodized salt in the United States. In 1924 it introduced and distributed iodized salt nationally, responding to widespread iodine deficiency and goiter, particularly in areas known historically as the “goiter belt.” This product helped connect the company with public-health efforts while establishing iodized salt as a mainstream household product. The company’s corporate history includes multiple acquisitions and ownership changes. Morton acquired the Bevis Rock Salt Company in 1919 and later became part of Morton-Norwich. In 1982 it merged with Thiokol to create Morton-Thiokol. That combination was separated in 1989 after the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster and the subsequent scrutiny of Thiokol’s solid-rocket-motor business; Morton retained consumer chemical operations while the space-propulsion business remained with Thiokol. Rohm and Haas acquired Morton Salt in 1999. K+S announced the purchase of Morton and related North American salt operations in 2009, completing the transaction later that year. In 2021, K+S sold its Americas salt operations, including Morton Salt, to Stone Canyon Industries Holdings, Mark Demetree, and affiliates. Morton Salt was historically based in Chicago and maintained a strong civic and cultural association with the city. Joy Morton established the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois, in 1922. The business subsequently moved its headquarters within Chicago before relocating to Overland Park, Kansas, in 2024. Under private ownership, the company has undertaken restructuring and continued investment in production capacity. Its current activities combine a mass-market consumer brand with a large industrial salt operation serving food, water-treatment, agricultural, chemical, and transportation customers.
History
Morton Salt traces its history to 1848, when Alonzo Richmond established Richmond & Company in Chicago. The firm initially acted as a sales intermediary for salt producers associated with New York's Onondaga region, distributing salt into Midwestern markets. During the late nineteenth century, the business developed from a sales agency into a merchant and manufacturer. Joy Morton joined the company in 1880, purchased an interest, and invested in lake boats to improve the westward movement of salt. In 1889 the company adopted the Morton name. The company was incorporated as Morton Salt Company in 1910. Its expansion included the acquisition of the Bevis Rock Salt Company in 1919. Bevis had been established by Alfred Bevis in the 1890s, and its later leadership included Bevis Longstreth. Morton broadened its operating base through mines, salt-processing facilities, and solar-salt resources. In 1954 it acquired a major solar-salt operation at Matthew Town on Inagua in the Bahamas. Product engineering and consumer marketing became central to Morton's identity in the early twentieth century. The company began using magnesium carbonate in 1911 to reduce caking and keep salt flowing in damp conditions. The advertising expression “When it rains it pours” and the accompanying umbrella girl were introduced in 1914 to communicate that functional benefit. Later formulations used calcium silicate for the same anti-caking purpose. The visual character was revised repeatedly, including updates in 1921, 1933, 1941, 1956, and 1968, before later anniversary-oriented refreshes. In 1924 Morton introduced iodized salt nationally. The initiative addressed iodine deficiency, which was associated with goiter and other health problems in several U.S. regions where soil and food supplies contained relatively little iodine. Iodized salt became one of the company's most important consumer products and helped make Morton a familiar household name. The corporate structure changed repeatedly after the middle of the twentieth century. The name Morton-Norwich was used beginning in 1969. Morton merged with Thiokol in 1982, creating Morton-Thiokol. After the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, the merger was unwound in 1989 amid investigations and litigation focused on the shuttle's solid-rocket components, which were associated with Thiokol rather than Morton's consumer salt business. Morton retained consumer chemical operations while Thiokol retained its space-propulsion activities. Rohm and Haas acquired Morton Salt in 1999 and operated it alongside the Canadian Salt Company, which Morton had acquired earlier. K+S agreed to acquire Morton Salt and related operations in 2009, completing the purchase later that year. In April 2021, K+S sold its North and South American salt businesses to Stone Canyon Industries Holdings, Mark Demetree, and affiliates. The new ownership period brought restructuring, including significant reductions in the Chicago headquarters workforce. The company has maintained a large operational footprint beyond packaged table salt. Its portfolio includes mined rock salt, evaporated salt, solar salt, water-conditioning products, food-industry ingredients, agricultural and livestock salt, and road or highway de-icing materials. In the mid-2020s, the company described a network of mines, evaporated and solar plants, packaging facilities, and distribution sites serving North American customers. Morton Salt's civic legacy is also linked to Joy Morton. In 1922 he established the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois, as a place for the cultivation, display, and study of trees, shrubs, and vines. The arboretum remains a major public botanical institution, although it is distinct from the salt business. Morton Salt continued to use its advertising heritage in cultural and promotional activities, including the 2014 centennial of the Morton Salt Girl, a 2016 collaboration connected with OK Go's music video “The One Moment,” and sponsorship-related programs. After more than a century in the Chicago area, the company relocated its headquarters to Overland Park, Kansas, in 2024.
- 2024
Headquarters moves to Overland Park
[1]Morton Salt relocates its headquarters from Chicago to Overland Park, Kansas.
- 2021
Stone Canyon acquires the Americas business
[1]K+S sells its North and South American salt operations, including Morton Salt, to Stone Canyon Industries Holdings and affiliates.
- 2014
Morton Salt Girl centennial
[1]Morton marks one hundred years of the umbrella-girl advertising character through public events, scholarships, contests, and related programming.
- 2009
K+S acquires Morton Salt
[1]K+S purchases Morton Salt and related operations from Rohm and Haas.
- 1999
Rohm and Haas acquires Morton Salt
[1]Morton becomes a Rohm and Haas division and operates alongside the Canadian Salt Company.
- 1989
Morton-Thiokol combination is separated
[1]The merger is unwound after the Challenger disaster and ensuing scrutiny of Thiokol's shuttle-propulsion business.
- 1982
Morton merges with Thiokol
[1]The companies combine to form Morton-Thiokol.
- 1954
Bahamas solar-salt operation is acquired
[1]Morton acquires a major solar saline operation at Matthew Town on Inagua in the Bahamas.
- 1924
Iodized salt is distributed nationally
[1]Morton introduces nationally distributed iodized salt during a period of widespread concern about iodine deficiency and goiter.
- 1919
Bevis Rock Salt Company is acquired
[1]Morton expands through the acquisition of Bevis Rock Salt Company.
Products and positioning
A dependable, mass-market American salt brand combining household familiarity with broad industrial, commercial, agricultural, water-treatment, and transportation applications.
Consumer table salt · 1924
Morton Iodized Salt
Morton's classic household table salt with added iodine. Introduced for national distribution in 1924, it became a central product in the company's consumer portfolio and is associated with the brand's familiar cylindrical container and umbrella-girl identity.
Cooking salt
Morton Kosher Salt
A coarse-grained salt marketed for cooking, seasoning, food preparation, and professional kitchen use. Morton offers kosher salt in forms designed to provide a larger crystal and different handling characteristics from finely milled table salt.
Sea salt
Morton Sea Salt
Salt produced from seawater and sold in multiple grain sizes for everyday cooking, finishing, baking, and seasoning. The line extends Morton's consumer range beyond mined or refined table salt.
Reduced-sodium seasoning
Morton Lite Salt
A reduced-sodium salt product intended for consumers seeking to lower sodium in household food preparation while retaining a salty taste. It is part of Morton's broader range of specialized consumer seasoning products.
Water treatment
Water-conditioning salt
Salt products supplied for household and commercial water-softening and conditioning systems. These products serve a functional treatment market distinct from Morton's packaged cooking-salt business.
Industrial salt
Industrial and de-icing salt
Bulk and packaged salt for food manufacturing, chemical processing, agriculture, livestock, road treatment, and winter highway maintenance. This industrial portfolio gives Morton a business base beyond retail grocery shelves.
Controversies
2026
Water intrusion at Morton Salt's Fairport mine
Morton Salt reported a significant inflow of water at its Fairport, Ohio salt mine on October 22. The company evacuated miners and ceased underground operations; all employees were evacuated safely, with no reported injuries. Morton Salt said it was investigating the intrusion with independent experts and regulatory authorities.
Marketing campaigns
- 2016Walk Her Walk
United States
Morton supported OK Go's music video “The One Moment” as part of its Walk Her Walk program.
Outcome. The collaboration connected the heritage character with contemporary music, creativity, and digital video.
- 2014Morton Salt Girl Centennial
United States
Morton celebrated the character's centennial with events in one hundred cities, scholarships for fine-arts and culinary-arts students, a Wrigley Field event, and social-media lookalike activities.
Outcome. The anniversary extended the brand's heritage into cultural, educational, and social-media programming.
- 2005MasterCard Icons commercial
United States
The Morton Salt Girl appeared among famous advertising characters in a MasterCard commercial broadcast during Super Bowl XXXIX.
Outcome. The appearance reinforced the character's status as a widely recognized advertising icon.
- 1914When it rains it pours
United States
Morton introduced the umbrella-carrying girl and the phrase “When it rains it pours” to demonstrate that its treated salt remained free-flowing in damp weather.
Outcome. The campaign created one of the most enduring advertising symbols in the United States and became the foundation of Morton's visual identity.
Brand decisions
2024
Headquarters relocationStrategyBackground
After decades associated with Chicago, Morton Salt reassessed its corporate-office footprint under private ownership.
Action taken
The company moved its headquarters to Overland Park, Kansas.
Aftermath
Overland Park became the company's principal corporate location while production and distribution activities continued across North America.
2021
Sale of Morton Salt to Stone Canyon IndustriesM&ABackground
K+S elected to sell its North and South American salt operations as part of a broader portfolio transaction.
Action taken
Stone Canyon Industries Holdings, Mark Demetree, and affiliates acquired the Americas business, including Morton Salt.
Aftermath
Morton became privately owned under Stone Canyon and subsequently undertook organizational restructuring.
Transaction value. (2021)
1989
Separation from ThiokolStrategyBackground
The 1986 Challenger disaster led to intense scrutiny of Thiokol's solid-rocket propulsion business within the Morton-Thiokol structure.
Action taken
The combination was ended, with Morton retaining consumer chemical operations and Thiokol retaining space-propulsion systems.
Aftermath
Morton and Thiokol continued as separate businesses, while the Challenger-related responsibility and litigation centered on Thiokol's propulsion products rather than Morton's salt operations.
1924
National launch of iodized saltProduct launchBackground
Iodine deficiency and goiter were significant public-health concerns in several U.S. regions, particularly areas with iodine-poor soils.
Action taken
Morton introduced and distributed iodized salt nationally.
Aftermath
Iodized salt became a major household category and an important part of Morton's consumer identity.
Recent events
Reported
Morton Salt ceases operations at Fairport Harbor mine[4]
Morton Salt said it ceased mining operations at its Fairport Harbor salt mine after a significant water inflow was discovered on October 22. The company said it is assessing the intrusion and determining next steps.
Reported
Water intrusion at Morton Salt’s Fairport mine[3]
Morton Salt reported a significant inflow of water at its Fairport, Ohio salt mine on October 22. The company evacuated miners and ceased underground operations; all employees were evacuated safely, with no reported injuries. Morton Salt said it was investigating the intrusion with independent experts and regulatory authorities.
Sources4 sources
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