Merrickville and District Historical Society

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2007 Heritage Awards of Merit

The attractive hand calligraphy Awards were donated by calligrapher Wendy Buckner of Ottawa.

The Merrickville and District Historical Society six years ago established an annual presentation of "Heritage Awards of Merit", in recognition of the efforts of individuals who have made significant contributions to maintaining and celebrating the heritage of Merrickville-Wolford. On April 24, 2007 the awards were presented at our annual Spring Dinner held in the historic third floor Baldachin Inn Ballroom .

Several years ago, the Historical Society was in crisis. Dozens of community members had made huge contributions of ideas and time to the Society, none more than our past president and recipient of our first 2007 Heritage Award of Merit, Denis Faulkner. But before Denis took over, membership had been failing and enthusiasm waning. It was time for rebuilding. Under Denis Faulkner’s leadership the Society has been able to rebuild to regain its previous level of success.

Denis Faulkner and Mary Munnoch

A strategic plan was developed to clearly focus our efforts on a few projects which were in our jurisdiction, were still reasonably achievable and were desirable to a large number of our members. An increased number of monthly lectures were held, the newsletter and posters were employed to keep members informed and a new highly successful web page was developed. Application to the Ontario Trillium Foundation and a grant from the estate of Thomas Manning allowed our archives restoration project to begin.

All of these actions were aimed at providing value to members and they responded in record numbers. For his leadership and continuous service to the Heritage community, The Merrickville & District Historical Society was pleased to present to Denis Faulkner, the Heritage award of Merit.

During the last five years, residents of Merrickville watched with interest the renovations at No. 306 Brock Street West. When acquired by the recipients of one of this year’s awards, Charles and Elodie Watson in 1999 they became only the fourth holders of the title to the property in some 110 years.

Home of Charles and Elodie Watson

Originally it was a double fronted frame house with central stairs, built on a full basement foundation of ashlar stone. At the back was a summer kitchen and behind it, near collapse, was a carriage house and woodshed. Restoration took close to five years with the able assistance of Charles’s father a skilled professional carpenter.

David Hammonds presents Heritage Award to Elodie and Charles Watson

In their renovations the Watson’s have nobly addressed the dilemma of where to draw the boundary between restoration and modernization which dictates fire safety concerns. They have chosen to remain faithful to the spirit of the old building minimally adapting it for modern living. The woodshed is now heated by a gas fireplace with an 1820s mantelshelf, originally installed in an early stone house near Maitland. Restoration of the. original clapboard of the frame house, clapboard cladding of the kitchen and woodshed and the final painting, in an attractive shade of yellow, was completed in 2004.

In recognizing Elodie and Charles Watson with the Merrickville & District Historical Society Award of Merit, we are also recognizing those who recognize, that acquiring a heritage home also means acquiring a responsibility to protect and preserve it, not only for their own use, but for the enjoyment of the ages.

Millers of Merrickville Antiques

One of the oldest and most attractive stone cottages in the Village of Merrickville was acquired by Catherine and Bruce Gallop to open as their antique store, Millers of Merrickville. It is always a concern of the Heritage Community when an historic property such as this is acquired for commercial use. But, we need not have worried. With scrupulous attention to detail the Gallop’s restored the ornate veranda, repaired and re-grouted the stone walls removing decrepit stucco. Repairs inside were similarly impressive. The old floor and rotting support members were replaced with period heavy pine, the windows and doors refitted retaining the character of the original cottage. For the preservation of the heritage character of this historic building, Catherine and Bruce Gallop received a 2007, Heritage award of Merit.

	Heritage Award Nomination (Word Format)
	Heritage Award Nomination (RTF Format)
	Heritage Award Nomination (PDF Format)

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