Merritt Family/Rodman Hall collection, 1841-2008

Thomas Rodman Merritt (1824-1906) was the youngest son of the Honorable William Hamilton Merritt and Catherine Rodman Prendergast Merritt. He was educated at Upper Canada College and the Grantham Academy. In 1843 he opened a general store in St. Catharines with James Rea Benson. They expanded their business into flour milling, and when the partnership dissolved around 1850, Merritt kept the mills while Benson kept the store. In 1869 Merritt sold the mills and related shipping business. He had several other local business pursuits. In 1860, he was appointed chairman and managing director of the Canadian Board of the Welland Railway. He served as vice-president of the Niagara District Bank until it merged with the Imperial Bank of Canada in 1875. He continued to serve as vice-president in the new bank and became president in 1902. Merritt was also a director and president of the Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge Company. Merritt married Mary Benson in 1853. He built a grand home in St. Catharines on an extensive plot of land. Construction began around 1857 and was completed in 1863. The house became known as Rodman Hall and is located close to the junction of Twelve Mile Creek and the Second Welland Canal. Initially, the property was designed as a large garden that resembled a park. By 1852, the landscaped grounds were completed. Remnants of the garden remain today, thriving in the sheltered climate of the Twelve Mile Creek valley. In the first phase of the home's construction from 1857 to 1860, the original or west wing was built. When Merritt's older brother William Hamilton Merritt Jr. died in 1860, building materials intended for construction of a house in Montebello Park were sent to Rodman Hall to be used. That same year construction on the east wing began, which was completed in 1863. Other minor renovations were made over the years, including the addition of dormer windows and installation of stained-glass windows on the central staircase. Further additions were made to the building in 1960 and 1974. These additions were used as galleries. When the Lincoln seat in the House of Commons became vacant in 1868, Merritt successfully won the seat and was re-elected in 1872. He was also involved in the founding of Ridley College, serving as president from 1889 to 1899. He continued on the school's board until his death in 1906. He was survived by his wife Mary, who died in 1908.

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