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William Merrick Sr. (1760-1844), arrived in the Merrickville area from Springfield, Massachusetts in 1793, after receiving a land grant of 200 acres for his “loyalty and good character”. He identified the waterpower potential of the site, constructed a dam across the Rideau River and built grist, saw and carding mills. A small community grew up around the mill site and it took the name of Merrick’s Mills. In 1800, it was linked to settlements on the St. Lawrence River not only by the Rideau River but also by a road to Brockville. The advantageous location at the confluence of a road and a river encouraged economic development, making Merrick’s Mills an important industrial and agricultural centre. By 1826, before canal construction began, Merrick’s Mills was already a thriving community of 300 people. A safe and navigable waterway would be a further boon to village merchants and industrialists to ship agricultural and industrial products to larger markets further away.
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