Whitehall is nestled in a wooded valley at the head of Lake Champlain. Whitehall is known as the birthplace of the U.S. Navy. The first American fleet was built here in 1776 under the supervision of Benedict Arnold. In later years, the village flourished as the canal and railroads brought people and prosperity. Located on the ancient north-south route from Canada through the Hudson River Valley to the Atlantic coast, Whitehall has always been an important center for defense and transportation. The community was settled in 1759 by British Captain Philip Skene, who built saw and gristmills, an iron foundry, and raised horses for the West Indies trade. In the first months of the American Revolution, Skene’s trading schooner was captured and Benedict Arnold led a small band of volunteers up the lake to raid a British fort in St. Johns, Quebec. That summer shipwrights in Whitehall raced to build the American fleet that fought in the decisive Battle of Valcour Island. Local shipwrights later built vessels used by the U.S.Navy during the War of 1812. The Champlain Canal, completed in 1819, is still in use today. During the 1800’s, boatloads of hay, potatoes, yellow ocher, marble, wood, iron ore and special products like ice and eels passed through its locks. Mostly pleasure craft use the canal today. In 1848 the railroad came to Whitehall, bringing tourists and freight. For decades it was the largest local industry with as many as 76 trains clearing the yards each day. Business has dwindled but C.P. Rail and Amtrak still provide freight and regular passenger service. Whitehall is a pleasant blend of waterfront parks and elaborates Victorian buildings from the village’s heyday.