Retsof (N.Y.)

Retsof is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) within the town of York in Livingston County, New York, United States. The community, situated 30 miles (48 km) southwest of the city of Rochester, is off New York State Route 63 approximately one mile east of State Route 36. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 340. It was founded by a man named William Foster, Jr., who reversed the letters of his name to name the town, and it was the site of one of the world's largest salt mines until its collapse in 1994. A new mine, the Hampton Corners mine, is located near Mount Morris, about 10 miles (16 km) to the southeast. The original population of Retsof was mostly of Italian origin; they lived in a company town where the salt mine owned the houses and a store and maintained the small village. The Italian families lived together with a few non-Italians. The others who were mostly bosses lived on the "Avenue" in nicer houses with indoor plumbing. In addition to the salt mine, there was a small railroad—the Genesee & Wyoming Railroad (G&W)—that took the salt to the "Main Lines" in neighboring towns. The G&W remains active today as a branch line of the Rochester & Southern Railroad.