The third Museum Club outing took place on Thursday, July 18, 2024, when a dozen registered participants, and two “foundlings” received a guided tour of the Merrickville Blockhouse Museum from our host, Jane Graham, who is the President of the Merrickville & District Historical Society (MDHS). Jane explained that the Blockhouse was built in 1832 to defend the Rideau Canal but never served in its original role. Instead, it became the home of the first lockmaster, Sgt. Johnston, his wife and children. Over the years the Blockhouse has had many other uses including as a storage facility and a church. Eventually it fell into disrepair and was scheduled to be demolished in the early 1960s. It was saved by the community of Merrickville who raised funds and created the Merrickville & District Historical Society to restore and operate the Blockhouse. The work has since become more than the volunteers of the MDHS can realistically handle, so the Town of Merrickville has now assumed responsibility for the Blockhouse Museum.
After about an hour in the Blockhouse Museum, Jane led ten of us on a guided walking tour along the main street of Merrickville pointing out many of the historic buildings and telling us the stories behind each. Jane told us some of the details of the history of Merrickville itself, from its origin as a thriving industrial and commercial hub, through its decline into the mid twentieth century and its renaissance in the past few decades as a vibrant community and a haven for artists and artisans of all kinds. She also told us some colourful stories of a number of its more prominent early residents and of the plans of the MDHS to honour one of these, Harry McLean, with a statue. The weather was perfect for the walking tour and there was much to see and yet more that could be explored independently based on a walking tour guide that is available through their web site.
Following our walking tour, which lasted just over an hour, we said good bye to Jane and retreated to the Mainstreet Restaurant, across the street from the Blockhouse, where the ten of us were warmly greeted. The large menu offered many tasty choices and their own lager was enjoyed by a number of our party. After lunch, the group dispersed, some browsing, and buying, in Merrickville’s fascinating array of shops.
Museum Club provides an opportunity for its participants to make new connections or in some cases discover existing connections they did not know they already had. The latter occurred on our Merrickville trip when a casual lunchtime discussion revealed that one of the participants knew the grandparents of another, even though the two participants had never met and the grandparents live in south-western Ontario. As they both agreed, it is a small world.
One of the goals of the Museum Club is to strengthen the relationships between the Historical Society of Ottawa and other organisations involved in the exploration of our local history or in preservation and conservancy. To this end, a partnership is now being established between the HSO and the MDHS whereby the MDHS will send the HSO electronic copies of their newsletters and invitations to their speaker series presentations and the HSO will reciprocate, providing more opportunities for the members of both organizations.
