Splendor and decadence of salt activity

The construction work that the owners were forced to make in the early nineteenth century led many of them to ruin. However, Añana achieved great advantages over competitors as production increased substantially and achieved a white salt of high purity. In fact, the community of salt makers introduced its product at the London's Universal Exposition of 1851 and were awarded a honourable mention and a bronze medal.

When the state ended the monopoly, producers regained full control of the exploitation. Although for a time the prospects were good for the heavy investment made and the valley reached its peak with over 5,000 thresing pits in place, nothing could prevent the further decline that occurred in the twentieth century. The decline of activity was caused, among other factors, by the improvements in the production of coastal salt marshes, the operation of industrial methods in rock salt deposits and the installation of railway lines that reduced the price of transport and, as a consequence, the final price of salt. Thus it was cheaper to use Torrevieja salt in Añana than produce it on their own salterns.