In 1766 Thomas Merrill, the son of Deacon John of Concord, NH, who was a native of Haverhill, MA, came to Conway, New Hampshire. He had lived in Concord and vicinity for a number of years; served as a lieutenant in the French and Indian War, and passed the later years of his life as a farmer and country squire under the shadow of the White Mountains.
Thomas Merrill’s home was on the Intervale, on the south side of the Saco River. He owned large tracts of land on both sides of the stream. In 1771 he gave a farm to each of his sons. His son Amos took possession of the land upon which Merrill Farm Inn & Resort now lies. Thomas Merrill died in 1788 and was buried in the Merrill Farm Cemetery, which lies across the street from Merrill Farm Inn & Resort in North Conway, New Hampshire. Upon Amos’ death, his son Mark took over the farm. His son, Ormond Merrill, an officer of the Union Army, used his muster out pay to remodel the farm and, upon the death of his father in 1885, Ormond “turned his full attention to the entertainment of summer boarders.” He named it the Merrill House, which contained “ten well appointed sleeping compartments” in the new business of the hotel.
The parlor, lobby and three guest rooms in the Inn are all part of the original home, and the kitchen and portion of the tea room was once the Merrill’s milk house. As their family grew, the home was remodeled and expanded. The other bedrooms were added to house more guests in the New Hampshire Hotel.
As the Mount Washington Valley grew in popularity, so did Merrill Farm and during the 1920’s the cabins along the river were slowly added. In the late 1940’s the barn was moved across town to its new location on Westside Road. Then the Merrill Lodge was built.