GordonsMusic

Review of Rodman Hall Gallery

In 1856 Thomas Rodman Merritt, the son of the famo...

In 1856 Thomas Rodman Merritt, the son of the famous canal builder William Hamilton Merritt built a stone house on twenty acres of picturesque land on the edge of downtown St. Catharines. In 1863 the house underwent renovations and a major addition was added. It came to be known as Rodman Hall. To develop the landscape surrounding the manor, Merritt hired an English gardener by the name of Samuel Richardson. Richardson developed a wonderful garden featuring well kept lawns, exotic trees, fountains, borders and a terraced garden on the hillside leading down to the Twelve Mile Creek. He also built a display green house, an extensive kitchen garden and orchard. The Merritts and Richardson were able to see the garden mature into magnificence over a period of five decades.