Silver Falls
Silver Falls is a waterfall on the Winniconic River in Strafford County, New Hampshire, where the river pours out of a 20-foot-wide gap in a granite cliff, known as Wretched Ledge, and plunges into the rocky chasm of Hilton’s Gorge. It should not be confused with Silver Cascade, located in Hart’s Location, New Hampshire. With a total fall of 175 feet, Silver Falls is the second-tallest single-drop waterfall in the state, behind only Arethusa Falls (176 feet), also located in Hart’s Location.
The first European to view the falls is believed to have been William Hilton, one of Dover’s earliest settlers, who visited the spot shortly after he and his brother Edward landed with Thomas Roberts at Dover Neck in 1623. It was Hilton who gave the falls their name, which presumably alludes to their sparkling appearance.
Situated on the section of the Winniconic River that forms the border between the Town of Madbury and the City of Dover, adjacent to the privately-owned Coffinhurst Estate on Garrison Hill, the falls are not publicly accessible from the Madbury side. There is, however, a small rest area off N.H. Route 16 in Dover, with access to a short, well-maintained public trail leading to the eastern edge of the falls.
Silver Falls has been the site of many tragedies, as several individuals have fallen or been carried to their deaths from the nearby ledges, and two people have been swept over the falls. Only one person is known to have survived such a misfortune.
On the hot afternoon of June 12, 1913, after two days of heavy rain, fourteen-year-old Benjamin Tuttle of Dover decided to go swimming alone in the slower portion of the Winniconic River known as Sawmill Lake. Misjudging the swiftness of the current, he was pulled downstream and eventually propelled over the edge of Wretched Ledge. His body was discovered later that afternoon on the riverbank below the falls.
Though battered and bloody, he was still breathing and fighting for his life. He was taken to the nearby Wentworth Hospital, where after a three-month convalescence he managed to make a full recovery. He resides in Dover to this day, and enjoys a degree of local celebrity as the only man to survive a fall into Hilton’s Gorge. Ironically, Benjamin Tuttle is a descendant of John Tuttle (c. 1603–1677), the first white man known to have explored Hilton’s Gorge in 1625.
The first European to view the falls is believed to have been William Hilton, one of Dover’s earliest settlers, who visited the spot shortly after he and his brother Edward landed with Thomas Roberts at Dover Neck in 1623. It was Hilton who gave the falls their name, which presumably alludes to their sparkling appearance.
Situated on the section of the Winniconic River that forms the border between the Town of Madbury and the City of Dover, adjacent to the privately-owned Coffinhurst Estate on Garrison Hill, the falls are not publicly accessible from the Madbury side. There is, however, a small rest area off N.H. Route 16 in Dover, with access to a short, well-maintained public trail leading to the eastern edge of the falls.
Description
Silver Falls is a tall series of plunges that carry the Winniconic River down the steep cliff face of Wretched Ledge into the cool, dark recesses of Hilton's Gorge. The falls are most spectacular during times of high-water runoff in the spring, and continue their graceful cascade throughout the summer and fall, especially after periods of heavy rainfall. Even in times of severe drought, the hundreds of strong trickles that continue to course over the rocky ledge remain impressive as they hop and skip over the large number of interesting ledges and terraces that interrupt their 175-foot drop to the rocky stream below.History
The waterfall was formed at the conclusion of the last ice age, when water from the receding ice sheet began once again coursing through the Winniconic valley. Over time, the river eroded the soft basalt between the fractured granite walls, creating the gorge. The falls were formed when the erosion was checked by the hard granite of Wretched Ledge.Silver Falls has been the site of many tragedies, as several individuals have fallen or been carried to their deaths from the nearby ledges, and two people have been swept over the falls. Only one person is known to have survived such a misfortune.
On the hot afternoon of June 12, 1913, after two days of heavy rain, fourteen-year-old Benjamin Tuttle of Dover decided to go swimming alone in the slower portion of the Winniconic River known as Sawmill Lake. Misjudging the swiftness of the current, he was pulled downstream and eventually propelled over the edge of Wretched Ledge. His body was discovered later that afternoon on the riverbank below the falls.
Though battered and bloody, he was still breathing and fighting for his life. He was taken to the nearby Wentworth Hospital, where after a three-month convalescence he managed to make a full recovery. He resides in Dover to this day, and enjoys a degree of local celebrity as the only man to survive a fall into Hilton’s Gorge. Ironically, Benjamin Tuttle is a descendant of John Tuttle (c. 1603–1677), the first white man known to have explored Hilton’s Gorge in 1625.
Silver Falls
WATERFALL
Silver Falls, Madbury, New Hampshire
Alfred Thomson Britcher c. 1861
Alfred Thomson Britcher c. 1861
LOCATION
Country
United States
State
New Hampshire
County
Strafford
Town
Dover/Madbury
Coordinates
43°10'12.3"N 70°51'46.7"W
CHARACTERISTICS
Type
Horsetail
Elevation
185 feet
Total Height
175 feet
Watercourse
Winniconic River
Comments