In 1825 a small cabin was built.  This was to become the kitchen of Salotalo’s main-building, which was enlarged to its present-day size in 1848, with the addition of the living room, hall and bedroom.  As often happened, the bedroom was left uncompleted, and it wasn’t finished until over a hundred years later, by Salotalo’s previous owners.  They put in a wooden floor for the kitchen, which until then had had a dirt-floor.

Day-labourers from the neighbouring Tullu farm lived in Saloniemi during its extension.  They weren’t able to do the amount of work agreed on, so they had to leave.  Relatives from Suodenniemi moved into Saloniemi, probably in 1896 or 1897.  The new family was small:  the mother Hilma Matilda Mattila, the father Ville Juhonpoika Mattila and their daughter Ida Sofia.  The Mattilas’ second child, a son named Kaarle Paavali, was born in Saloniemi on 15.1.1898.

Around this time, farmer Tullu traded farms with a farmer from Häijää, but when Tullu had second thoughts, the deal was called off.  However, the farmer from Häijää demanded some forestland as compensation.  It was a valuable piece of land and today it is divided into 10 hectares owned by a timber company, the forests of Salotalo and another piece of land privately owned.

The farmer from Häijää sold the forestland he had received as compensation to Nokia Aktiebolag Oy.  Better days had now come to the Mattila family.  They no longer had to labour for Tullu, they farmed their own fields and kept their own cattle and, with a horse for transportation, Ville Mattila was able to fell trees during the winter.  Mattila also worked as a forester and gamekeeper for the timber company, for which he was given the right to live and farm on the land.

The Mattilas had a total of nine children.  Two of them died at an early age, one moved to America and the rest settled down close by.  According to parish registers, the youngest of the family, Elli Esteri (born 19.11.1915) moved to Tampere in August 1935.  The father of the family, Ville Juhonpoika, died in the summer of 1918 of blood poisoning.

On New Years’ Eve that same year, his widow Hilma Matilda married Vilho Vihtori Vilhonpoika Heinisuo, a widower from Karkku.  The family bought the Salotalo farm from Nokia Oy in August 1921.  Two more sons were born to the family:  Vilho Olavi in 1920 and Heikki Matias in 1923.  Heikki Matias had epilepsy.  Once, while fishing on Lake Hanhijärvi, he lost control of his raft, fell into the water and got water into his lungs.  He died before those on the shore could rescue him.

Peasants from Lavia, Suodenniemi and other neighbouring areas went to Tampere to sell butter, cheeses and other farm products.  There was no public transportation in those days and the journey had to be travelled on foot.  The paths and roads passed by Salotalo and, as it was a an out-of-the-way farm, all visitors were welcomed by Hilma.  In return for coffee and a place to rest, the travellers related news, read newspapers outloud and wrote out letters dictated by Hilma, who could neither read nor write.

Even after the war, timber was transported by horse from Salotalo to Sunttimäki.  Two loads a day was normal.  As Salotalo is almost 50 meters higher than the beginning of the gravel road at the crossroads of Niittykorvi, this was quite a load for the poor horse!  The gravel road wasn’t build until during the 1970’s, but it follows the original track through the forest.

Hilma and Vilho Vihtori sold Salotalo to their son Vilho at the end of September in 1949.  Vilho married Aune Hilja Poikonen, who was working at what is now the Viilo farm.  Their marriage was childless.  In 1961they later moved away, selling Salotalo.  The farm changed hands a few more times before coming into the ownership of Tapio Kaski and Tauno Ilmaranta.  They bought the buildings and grounds in 1974, followed by the entire farm in 1980.

The remaining original buildings are the main-building (to which a porch as since been added), the cowshed (restored in 1950) and part of the threshing house.  All the other buildings were built by Kaski and Ilmaranta.  The underground cellar was built to replace a potato storage-pit, whose archings had given way causing the roof to collapse.