The Blockhouse Museum occupies Merrickville's squat 1830s defensive post beside the canal. It was built after the War of 1812, when the Rideau Canal was part transport route and part military insurance policy.
Inside, the exhibits are local and modest: canal history, village industry, and artifacts from the surrounding farms and mills. The building itself is the reason to come. Its thick walls and timber upper storey make Merrickville's postcard canal scene feel less quaint and more strategic.