Myths, Mystery, Murder!
Salt Mines
Missing Cemetery & Reappearing Head Stones
Grave Robbers
The Linden Murders
Missing Cemetery & Reappearing Head Stones
Grave Robbers
The Linden Murders
Collapse of Retsof Salt Mine
The 1800's saw many changes in this country. The end of the Civil War, the onset of the Gold Rush, and mining for salt was popular throughout the world. By the last quarter of the century there dozens of salt mining companies in the state of New York. The first with the first shaft salt mine was developed in Livingston County (previously salt was extracted via a brine process) and, in fact, there were over 30 mining companies surrounding Genesee County alone. The oldest, the Retsof Mine, had been established back in 1885 and as with any mining industry, was victim of many deaths and tragedies.Retsof, as with all mines, had a series of underground tunnel systems and passages. On March 12, 1994 at 5:43 a.m. a 3.6 earthquake centered near Cuylerville. The earthquake released Methane and hydrogen sulfide gases, ground water began leaching into the tunnels, a 500 square foot shale ceiling collapsed, and eventually the entire mine flooded. Damage above ground included 70 ft trees and acres of farm land were swallowed up by sink holes, bridges collapsed, and wells ran dry.
