Philip Skene founded Whitehall, originally known as Skenesborough, in 1759, drawn by the hydropower for mills provided by the falls on Wood Creek. Its importance rested on transportation because of its location on the great Champlain–Hudson route. Recommendations for a canal connecting Lake Champlain and the Hudson River were made as early as 1796, and in 1823 the route to Waterford was completed. The Champlain Canal eliminated the five-mile land transfer between Fort Edward and Wood Creek, making it possible to transport produce and manufactured goods directly to Albany and New York City. Along with the Erie Canal, it brought great prosperity to New York State by significantly reducing the time and cost of moving people and goods. In Whitehall, the canal led industries and businesses to spring up and flourish, and the row of native brick buildings that housed many of them still faces the canal and is now on the National Historic Register.