Thought this was a great read. Was posted on Government site.
"** History of the Geat Salt Pond and FOGA by Mr. Alfonso Blijden **
The salt factory or FOGA as it is called was built by the Dutch engineer Slotemakers and his Italian colleague Ademante in 1852. Over the years there have been some debate as to what it was used for. Some say it was used as a pump house others a salt factory. The process the factory was intended for according to the documents in the government archives, and the process that was actually used are described below.
The salt production on Sint Maarten was characterized by very variable salt yields due to the variable rainfall on the island. Only a long dry period allowed salt production (the annual salt season). According to documents in the archives, the intention of the factory was to counteract this fluctuating salt production by a process known as the seething of salt, as brine could be boiled here all year round. This plan was discontinued because it was not financially sustainable.
PROCESS I
A salt solution (brine) would be poured into flat trays made of steel or cast iron. A coal, wood or peat fire is then lit under the trays, which heats the brine to over a hundred degrees Celsius. During heating, some of the impurities from the brine would float to the surface as a film. Shortly before the boiling point, this membrane is skimmed off as much as possible. During cooking, the water evaporates, after which crystals are formed. This evaporation process by boiling was called salting.
PROCESS II
During the warm months, the water in the pond would evaporate and leave a thick crust of salt behind. That crust would have to be about 4 to 5 cm before it could be gathered. It was then said the salt was ripe. Pieces of the crust would then be broken off by hand, dirt would be removed/washed off and the lumps were then put in shallow boats called flats that carried them to the edge of the pond. This was called picking salt.
Once on shore, the salt workers, mostly women, would occupy themselves with filling trays which they would carry on their heads to the salt heap. Once by the salt heap, they would shout to the foreman “Mark meh” because they had to measure how much barrels they had picked. Once measured, the salt would be packed in bags of 14 to 15 kilos and loaded onto ox-carts. Depending on if there was a schooner in port, the carts would take the salt to the pack house or to the beach. Besides the carts you would also see children running from the salt heap with bags of salt on their heads to the beach. These same children would wade out in the water with bags of salt on their heads and pass them on to older boys who would load the bags of salt on smaller boats called lighters and they would pull/push these loaded lighters out to the schooner.
After being in relatively continuous production from the 17th century, salt production ended in the Great Salt Pond of Philipsburg in 1949, but struggled on until the 1960s in Grand Case.
The ruins of FOGA are located in the northernmost part of the salt pan. On the west side is the Great Salt Pond. The whole complex consisted of eight basins of different sizes next to each other with the boiler room in the middle of the complex with two additional reservoirs. Both FOGA and the Northeastern section of the pond (the salt pans) were designated as National monuments in 2008."

Thanks very much.

Very interesting history of the Great Salt Pond. Thanks for that!