Morton Salt Mine & Plant (Himrod)

The Morton Salt mine at Himrod, near the western shore of Seneca Lake in Yates County, represents one of the more dramatic industrial episodes in Finger Lakes history. In the 1960s, Morton Salt identified a deep salt bed beneath the lake and its surrounding terrain, accessible by sinking shafts through challenging geological strata. Construction of two shafts began, descending more than 2,100 feet — well below the lakebed itself — requiring far more casing and grouting than originally estimated because of persistent pressurized water flows throughout the boring process.

Edward Monaghan served as underground mine superintendent; Marvin Winkle arrived as mine manager in 1968 when active operations began. A railroad trackmobile was used to move salt cars between the yard and the processing plant above ground. The mine employed dozens of local workers and was seen as an economic boon for the rural community.

Two worker fatalities are documented from the mine's operating years: one Cementation Corporation employee died during construction of one of the shafts, and one Morton Salt miner was fatally killed by a salt ceiling collapse during operations. These deaths are documented in contemporaneous local newspaper accounts. The Shadowlands seed claim that the mine 'continuously was caving in crushing and killing workers' is a gross exaggeration of these two documented fatalities and has been corrected.

In May 1976, Morton Salt executives arrived without warning and announced immediate shutdown. The combination of declining market demand for rock salt, high operating costs, water management expenses, shale contamination, and ongoing geological instability had made the operation economically unviable. 'The news stunned the community,' according to contemporary local newspaper accounts. The mine was sealed; the above-ground plant and processing structures were subsequently demolished or left to decay. Today, very little infrastructure survives above ground near the site.