Bill Merchant Receives MANY Award of Distinction

D&H Canal Historical Society was the recipient of one of fourteen awards made by the Museum Association of New York (MANY) in 2023 that celebrate unique leadership, dedicated community service, transformational visitor experiences, community engagement, and innovative programs that use collections to tell stories of everyone who calls New York home.

The award honors long-time Society staff member, Bill Merchant, Deputy Director for Collections, Historian & Curator, in the Individual Achievement category. The Individual Achievement Award honors a dedicated museum professional or volunteer that played a significant role in advancing their organizations. Award winners are selected for their valuable contributions to expanding audience reach, increasing the number and types of staff, successful campaigns for endowment or capital projects, or instilling financial stability at their organization. Nominations are accepted for a museum staff person or a museum trustee or volunteer.

Bill Merchant has been a mainstay at the D&H Canal Historical Society for over 12 years. He started out as a volunteer trustee, served as Board President, and then over six years ago moved into a staff role as Deputy Director for Collections. His efforts, knowledge, and skills have led the Society from an all-volunteer organization to one with 2 full-time and 5 part-time staff. In addition to expanding audiences through outreach and virtual programs, his foresight, guidance, and sweat equity brought the Society to its new home in the DePuy Tavern. Over 10 years ago, Bill encouraged the Society to consider the acquisition of the DePuy Tavern, a National Historic Landmark building constructed in 1797 and located along the updated route of the D&H Canal in High Falls. It sits next to Lock 16, which is the beginning of the Society's Five Locks Walk, a walking trail that follows the towpath of the Canal after it was re-routed in 1850 and features 5 partially restored locks.

Since that original idea came about, Bill has tirelessly worked in his various roles to support the acquisition of the building through a grant from The Open Space Institute and New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation. In addition, he was instrumental in the renovation of the building from the former Canal House Restaurant to the new location for the D&H Canal Museum and Mid-Hudson Visitor Center. Merchant also played a significant role in coordinating with the exhibits consultants to develop text, determine interpretive themes, and even installing the exhibits. Bill has stewarded the Society's collection to ensure that all items are properly catalogued and preserved.

He helped the Society receive a Greater Hudson Heritage Network Conservation Grant to purchase two environmental monitors. He is continually on the lookout for new collections items. The most recent acquisition that he secured was an oil painting, titled “Moonlight, The Lock, High Falls, 1856” by William Rikarby Miller, that is set in High Falls and depicts the DePuy Tavern. Merchant has been focused on highlighting the stories of historically marginalized populations that were significant to the success of the D&H Canal. In 2019, he was awarded a grant from The Community Foundation of the Hudson Valley to conduct this research, which has resulted in an article published in the Hudson River Valley Review, 4 hour long presentations that can be viewed on the Society's YouTube channel, D&H TV, and numerous guest presentations in partnership with other organizations.

Bill has further broadened the reach of the Society through his work on the Society's YouTube channel, D&H TV, which features over 100 videos sharing the history of the D&H Canal (https://www.youtube.com/@DandHTV). This engaging content includes a "Where is Our Historian" series that features Merchant's travels along the 108-mile route of the Canal to explore existing remains and sites that might be lesser known to the public. So far, the channel has received almost 20,000 views since it was launched in spring 2020.

The most recent initiative that Merchant has been significantly involved in, is the preservation of the collectors and telegraph office. Acquired last fall by the Society, it may be one of the few original telegraph offices in the country. Built in 1850 and enlarged in 1868, it is located next to NY Lock 15 of the Delaware & Hudson Canal in High Falls. The building and lock are just south of where the Canal crossed the Rondout Creek, using a Roebling suspension aqueduct, one of four built by Roebling for the Canal. With Bill's guidance, the building has been secured from the elements and the area has been cleared of overgrowth. He has conducted research on the building and is coordinating with the Society's Vice President and a local architect to develop plans for restoring the building to make it safe and accessible to the public.

D&H Canal Historical Society and Bill Merchant will be recognized at the Museum Association of New York 2023 annual conference “Finding Center: Access, Inclusion, Participation, and Engagement” in Syracuse, New York on Monday, April 17 from 12:30 - 1:30 PM at the Syracuse Marriott Downtown.

“New York’s museums and museum professionals are reimagining and reinventing their roles within their communities, how they interpret their stories and collections, and the visitor experience,” said Natalie Stetson, Executive Director of the Erie Canal Museum and MANY Program Committee Co-Chair. “This year’s award winners are outstanding examples for the museum field.” 

“We were incredibly impressed with the quality and quantity of award nominations this year, which made the review process highly competitive,” said Clifford Laube, Public Programs Specialist at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum and MANY Program Committee Co-Chair. “Museums and museum staff across the state are demonstrating creative thinking and are inspiring institutional change.”

“Bill Merchant is one of those rare individuals whose professional competency extends well beyond the parameters of his job description and who willingly takes on with great delight an extraordinary number of tasks usually performed by staff, consultants, or contractors,” commended Jack Braunlein, Executive Director of the D&H Canal Historical Society. “Despite the seemingly impossible workload, Bill always presents a refreshingly positive attitude and cheerful demeanor that makes working with him a true pleasure.”

Learn more about MANY’s 2023 Awards of Distinction and the annual conference here: https://nysmuseums.org/awardsofdistinction.