Merritton is both a distinct community within and a

council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

ward of

St. Catharines St. Catharines is the most populous city in Canada's Niagara Region, the eighth largest urban area in the province of Ontario. As of 2021, St. Catharines has an area of and 136,803 residents. It lies in Southern Ontario, south of Toronto ac ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada. It was named after William Hamilton Merritt, a prominent local entrepreneur and founder of the

Welland Canal The Welland Canal is a ship canal in Ontario, Canada, and part of the St. Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes Waterway. The canal traverses the Niagara Peninsula between Port Weller, Ontario, Port Weller on Lake Ontario, and Port Colborne on Lak ...

Company. Until 1858, Merritton was named Welland City, but exchanged names that year with Merrittsville (Today's Welland City), when that town became the "seat" of Welland county. Merritton was also previously known as Slabtown and Centreville. It became part of the city of St. Catharines in 1961. Prior to amalgamation which saw the original city of St. Catharines absorb several satellite towns, Merritton was a separate entity (along with

Port Dalhousie Port Dalhousie is a community in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. Known for its waterfront appeal, it is home to the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta and is historically significant as the terminus for the first three (19th century) routes of th ...

). This led to the population of St. Catharines becoming more than twice as large. Merritton has had an ice hockey exchange program with the Wissahickon Skating Club since 1964. The original town hall, on Merritt St., once the City of St. Catharines Museum, is now home to the St. Catharines Senior's Centre. As a former industrial centre on the Welland Canal, Merritton contains various heritage sites. Among them are the

Merritton Tunnel The Merritton Tunnel, also known as the Blue Ghost Tunnel and the Grand Trunk Railway Tunnel, is an abandoned railway tunnel in Thorold, Ontario. The decision to build the tunnel came from the need for a more durable and less interrupted way to ...

(under the third Welland Canal), remnants of the three previous

s and several early industrial ruins including the former Independent Rubber Company / Merritton Cotton Mills Annex and the old Lybster Mill building, which was built in 1860. The area has undergone a major infrastructure facelift involving the re-alignment of Glendale Avenue, the replacement of the Merritt Street Bridge. A new fire hall was built in 2013. Merritton is also experiencing a significant increase in residential construction, especially on property designated as

brownfield Brownfield is previously-developed land that has been abandoned or underused, and which may carry pollution, or a risk of pollution, from industrial use. The specific definition of brownfield land varies and is decided by policy makers and l ...

by the city.

References

External links

The Merritton WebsiteMerritton community website
Neighbourhoods in St. Catharines {{GoldenHorseshoe-geo-stub

See also

References

External links