By 1839, Rogers was operating 115 salt kettles. He lost the salt works in 1844 to the Cherokee Nation under a new law defining their territory. The Cherokee leased the works to Lewis Ross (brother of Chief John Ross). Ross built a house there and operated the salt business using African American slave labor. Drilling for salt water, in 1859 Ross accidentally hit the first vein of oil in Indian Territory (Oklahoma). It flowed at the rate of 10 barrels a day for a year. He operated two stores in Salina.