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.