When the glacier gouged out the Unadilla River Valley it left many of its tributary streams higher than the valley floor. The result is manifest today as a series of waterfalls. Those I know about, from north to south on the west side are: Buttermilk Falls in New Berlin, White Store Falls in Norwich, and East Guilford Falls in Guilford. The topographic maps reveal other possibilities.
All this land along the valley is private, so my explorations are limited to those for which I have landowner permission. In the photo Bill Comings, the proud owner, is showing me the frothy spillway of the White Store Falls. Our local waterfalls come in two major types, those that fall straight down and those that cascade down rocky slopes. Bill’s falls run over a dome-shaped rock outcrop which churns the water into a white foam. A similar falls about seven miles north is named Buttermilk Falls because of its resemblance to flowing buttermilk.
The White Store Falls are named after the eponymous hamlet about a half-mile down stream. Hamlets have no boundaries, but White Store seems to lie on State Route 8 between County Road 34 and White Store Road. The White Store Falls are on an unnamed stream, which flows into the White Store Brook just north of White Store Road. The stone culvert under the road here exhibits some wonderful workmanship. White Store had its own post office from 1822 through 1905.
The hamlet is so named because of a store painted white. Most contemporary buildings at the time were unpainted or painted red. For more information see Mert Brownell’s 1976 book, “Unadilla Valley; White Store to East Guilford 1788-1976,” pages 92-97. See also the upcoming book by Thomas Gray, the Town Historian of Guilford, “The Days of the Mill and the Mansion.” It focuses on Rockwells Mills but reaches to the White Store area. It is currently in press but will be available soon.
White Store Brook flows out of Whites Pond. The pond, in the Town of New Berlin, was apparently named for its owner and the double use of “White” is just a coincidence. It is called Whites Pond on the 1875 map but not on earlier maps.
Our local waterfalls resemble the extreme behavior differences exhibited by that little girl with the forehead curl in the nursery rhyme, who was either very good or horrid. When they have water they flow magnificently with powerful gusto. But in drought years they are sometimes bone dry. Which probably explains the history of the mill.
