“Van Natta's dam [is] near the present-day bridge over Giles Street. The buildings there were used in the late 1800s by John E. Van Natta as a flour mill. The business, Sylvan Park Mills, with its office on North Aurora Street advertised the sale of ‘Flour, Feed, Meal, Grain & Seeds’ plus a ‘New Process Buckwheat Flour’. These buildings were converted later to the pumping station for the city water supply.”
This spot has been known as Wells Falls or Business Man’s Lunch Falls because there is a shady flat area at the base of the falls, accessible from a short trail that heads north off Giles Street, that has long been used for picnics and lunch breaks.
- Dieckmann, Jane, Water World, Ithaca Times, May 3, 2000