Island House, Bellows Falls, Vermont. A large hotel named the Island House was built at the center of the the land, called the Island, at the bend of the Connecticut river separated from the rest of the shore by the first canal in the United States as a way to bypass the Bellows Falls built by the British investors in 1792. Its luxurious interiors and manicured grounds attracted tourists in search of cool summers and excursions into the White Mountains. In the antebellum period, a large part of the clientele came from the steamy southern states. The falls also challenged daredevils who attempted to survive their descent unscathed through the Bellows Falls.