Merritt, William Hamilton National Historic Person
St. Catharines, Ontario
Portrait
(© Expired; Source: Library and Archives Canada C-003046)
Address :
Welland Canals Parkway (formerly Government Road), St. Catharines, Ontario
Recognition Statute:
Historic Sites and Monuments Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. H-4)
Designation Date:
1974-05-18
Life Date:
1793 to 1862
Other Name(s):
-
Merritt, William Hamilton
(Designation Name)
Importance:
Industrialist, politician, led construction of the Welland Canal
Plaque(s)
Existing plaque: lock #3 Welland Canal Welland Canals Parkway (formerly Government Road), St. Catharines, Ontario
Born of a Loyalist family in the state of New York, Merritt became a pioneer merchant and industrialist on Upper Canada's Niagara frontier. In 1818 he began to promote construction of the Welland Canal, of which he became the first general manager (1824-41). Active in provincial politics from 1832 to 1862 as MLA, President of the Executive Council (1848-50) and Commissioner of Public Works (1850-51), he devoted his considerable energies to the economic development of the province through advocacy of such measures as the improvement of the St. Lawrence navigation and limited reciprocal free trade with the United States.