Joseph Currier, 1820 -1884

Joseph Merrill Currier was a Vermonter of French Canadian descent who holds a lasting place in Canadiana to this day. He amassed a tremendous fortune through his partnerships with Moss Dickinson, the founder of Manotick, and Wright and Batson, the former a descendant of Philomen Wright the founder of Hull. As a parliamentarian, he built a stately stone home on the cliffs of the Rideau which is now the official residence of sitting Canadian Prime Ministers, 24 Sussex Drive. He never truly recovered from the tragic, accidental death of his young bride in his Manotick grist mill (now Watson's Mill).