Merrickville–Wolford is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

-status municipality in

Eastern Ontario Eastern Ontario (census population 1,892,332 in 2021) () is a secondary region of Southern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. It occupies a wedge-shaped area bounded by the Ottawa River and Quebec to the northeast and east, the St. Lawr ...

, Canada, located in the

United Counties of Leeds and Grenville The United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, commonly known as Leeds and Grenville, is a county and census division in Ontario, Canada, in the Eastern Ontario subregion of Southern Ontario. It fronts on the St. Lawrence River and the internation ...

. It spans both shores of the

Rideau River The Rideau River (, ) is a river in Eastern Ontario, Canada. The river flows north from Upper Rideau Lake and empties into the Ottawa River at the Rideau Falls in Ottawa, Ontario. Its length is . As explained in a writing by Samuel de Champl ...

. The current municipality was incorporated on January 1, 1998, by amalgamating the former Village of Merrickville with the former Township of Wolford. In the last two decades, the region has seen a boom in the local economy mostly related to increased

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

. It is famous for its local crafts people and artists. The

Rideau Canal The Rideau Canal is a 202-kilometre long canal that links the Ottawa River at Ottawa with the Cataraqui River and Lake Ontario at Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Its 46 Lock (water navigation), locks raise boats from the Ottawa River 83 metres (272 ...

locks at Merrickville with three locks have a total lift of . On the south side of the locks there is the old blockhouse, which has been restored by

Parks Canada Parks Canada ()Parks Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Parks Canada Agency (). is the agency of the Government of Canada which manages the country's 37 National Parks, three National Marine Co ...

as a tourist site and museum operated by the Merrickville and District Historical Society.

History

William Merrick, a

United Empire Loyalist United Empire Loyalist (UEL; or simply Loyalist) is an honorific title which was first given by the 1st Lord Dorchester, the governor of Quebec and governor general of the Canadas, to American Loyalists who resettled in British North Ameri ...

settler originally from

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is the most populous city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, and its county seat. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...

, founded the village of Merrickville in 1794. Attracted to the site by waterpower, he constructed a

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

across the river and then built

grist Grist is grain that has been separated from its chaff in preparation for grinding. It can also mean grain that has been ground at a gristmill. Its etymology derives from the verb ''grind.'' Grist can be ground into meal or flour, depending on h ...

saw A saw is a tool consisting of a tough blade, Wire saw, wire, or Chainsaw, chain with a hard toothed edge used to cut through material. Various terms are used to describe toothed and abrasive saws. Saws began as serrated materials, and when man ...

and

carding In Textile manufacturing, textile production, carding is a mechanical process that disentangles, cleans and intermixes fibres to produce a continuous web or sliver (textiles), sliver suitable for subsequent processing. This is achieved by passi ...

mills. It was not long before a community sprang up around the milling activity. In 1821, Merrick built a stone house overlooking his mills. When the construction crews arrived in 1827 to build the

, the village of Merrick's Mills, as it was then known, was a thriving community of about 300. A plaque was erected by the Merrickville and District Historical Society in remembrance of an unknown number of persons who were buried in the McGuigan Cemetery between the years 1800 and 1900; Many died of pestilence, principally malaria, during the construction of the Rideau Canal. Unlike most of the pre-canal sites, Merrick's Mills was not displaced or overshadowed by canal construction. After the canal was completed, the excess water once again turned the wheels of the mills and the improved transportation system caused a surge in commercial activity in the village. By 1851, Merrick's Mills was an impressive industrial centre. Merrick's Mills continued to thrive into the mid-1860s. The end of the community's industrial growth is closely related to the decline of the commercial phase of the Rideau canal. The rise of the nearby town of

Smiths Falls Smiths Falls is a town in Eastern Ontario, Canada, southwest of Ottawa. As of the 2021 census it has a population of 9,254. It is in the Census division for Lanark County, but is administratively separated from the county. The Rideau Canal ...

as a major railway hub displaced Merrick's Mills as an industrial leader in the region. Despite the decline, some industry continued in the community. In 1915 a power company was formed at Merrickville to provide electricity for the mills and a foundry, and the woolen mill continued to function until 1954.

Communities

In addition to Merrickville, the village comprises the smaller communities of Carleys Corners, Eastons Corners, Hemlock Corners, Jasper, Snowdons Corners, Wolford Centre, Wolford Chapel and Yule. The village administrative offices are located in Merrickville.

Demographics

In the

2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...

conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...

, Merrickville–Wolford had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. * Population in 1996: ** Merrickville Village: 1,027 ** Wolford Township: 1,603 * Population in 1991: ** Merrickville Village: 989 ** Wolford Township: 1,438 Mother tongue (2021): * English as first language: 88.4% * French as first language: 5.5% * English and French as first language: 1.3% * Other as first language: 3.8%

Attractions

Merrickville was acknowledged as Canada's Most Beautiful Village by

Communities in Bloom Communities in Bloom is a Canadian non-profit organization that fosters friendly competition between Canadian communities to beautify their civic spaces. It was established in 1995 as a national competition between 29 communities, and has since e ...

in 1998, as its charming streets are lined with heritage architecture, artists'

studio A studio is a space set aside for creative work of any kind, including art, dance, music and theater. The word ''studio'' is derived from the , from , from ''studere'', meaning to study or zeal. Types Art The studio of any artist, esp ...

s, specialty

boutique A () is a retail shop that deals in high end fashionable clothing or accessories. The word is French for "shop", which derives ultimately from the Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in anc ...

s and restaurants. There is a thriving

artisan An artisan (from , ) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art, sculpture, clothing, food ite ...

community with more than 30 artists in the area. Merrickville has more than 100 historic and heritage properties. One of the oldest settlements along the Rideau canal, a major feature in the village is the set of three locks on the Rideau Canal. The locks are adjacent to the Blockhouse, built in 1832 to guard the locks against potential American attacks. The Blockhouse, a

National Historic Site of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada () are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being of national historic significance. Parks C ...

, was built by Lieutenant-Colonel

John By Lieutenant-Colonel John By (7 August 1779 – 1 February 1836) was an English military engineer. He is best known for having supervised the construction of the Rideau Canal and for having founded Bytown in the process. It developed and was desi ...

as part of a chain of four

blockhouse A blockhouse is a small fortification, usually consisting of one or more rooms with loopholes, allowing its defenders to fire in various directions. It is usually an isolated fort in the form of a single building, serving as a defensive stro ...

s for the defense of the Rideau Canal. The Blockhouse Museum is open during peak summer season. Near the locks is the Industrial Heritage Complex Museum, the site of the original mills. Merrickville was for many years the home of railway contractor Harry Falconer McLean, and his house built by Aaron Merrick, the son of town founder William Merrick, can still be seen in the village. A pub is now named after Harry McLean, although it is not located in his house. The Merrickville Artists Guild Studio Tour, the last weekend of September and first weekend in October, is Eastern Ontario's original artists' tour, and features the work of over 30 artists each year. Gardening enthusiasts can stroll through the Rideau Woodland Ramble, declared one of Canada's Top Garden Destinations (voted one of Canada's Top nurseries in '' Canadian Gardening'') with a huge range of rare and exotic plants, trees and shrubs located just south of the village of Burritts Rapids. Baldachin_Inn_Merrickville

Every summer there is the Merrickville Fair which brings a midway,

4-H 4-H is a U.S.-based network of youth organizations whose mission is "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development". Its name is a reference to the occurrence of the initial letter H four times ...

Livestock Show events, agricultural displays and other attractions to the town. In July there is also a Vintage Car Show that brings exhibitors from central and eastern Canada and the United States. The Baldachin Inn, constructed in 1860, was historically significant as the largest department store between Chicago and Montreal. The building was commissioned by Harry MacLean. The building's ballroom features a distinctive architectural element known as the King's Post Truss system. This structural design enables a column-free interior space. The resulting 6,000-square-foot (557 m²) ballroom provides an unobstructed venue frequently utilized for celebrations and social gatherings. There are a number of

bed and breakfast A bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. In addition, a B&B sometimes has the hosts living in the house. ''Bed and breakfast'' is also used to ...

locations at Merrickville, and restaurants including pubs, cafés, and diners. The Rideau Trail passes through the village.

References

External links