View from highway View from highway looking at the DH Canal. Access to museum and canal. The D&H Canal Museum features an outstanding example of a late 19th century gothic chapel, which was the first (and only) Episcopal church built in the historic hamlet of High Falls. St. John's parishioners included many employees of the D&H Canal, including local lock tenders. The first floor of the parish house featured a social hall with a stage where school plays and dances were held. As recorded in a 1946. A state of the northeast United States. It was admitted as one of the original Thirteen Colonies in 1788. First explored by Samuel de Champlain and Henry Hudson, the region was claimed by the Dutch in 1624 but fell to the English in 1664–1667. The building of the Erie Canal and railroad lines in the 1820s and 1830s led to development of the western part of the state and great economic prosperity, establishing New York City as the financial center of the nation. Albany is the capital and New York City the largest metropolis.