There is a lot to love about Merrill, WI, and in a recent multi-media community survey completed by over 360 respondents, residents shared their favorite attributes of the community in which they live, work and play:
1. Friendly, peaceful, small town community atmosphere
2. Numerous city, county and state parks
3. High quality schools
4. Scenic Wisconsin and Prairie rivers
5. Proximity to Northwoods provides access to more outdoor recreation opportunities
6. Proximity to Wausau provides access to shopping and other services
7. High quality public library with local access to worldwide resources
8. Low cost of living
9. Responsive police and career fire/EMS department create a safe living environment
10. Service oriented public transportation (Merrill-Go-Round)
The responses listed above showed up consistently in multiple survey responses. Merrill has a lot to be proud about and if we’d like to see more new business come into the community, we can help by being proactive in sharing the pride we have in the community. Each person can make a difference by sharing their appreciation for some of the attributes listed above with their friends and relatives. We can also contribute by picking up a piece of litter, maintaining our property, inviting out of town friends to events in Merrill, and being a good neighbor, all things that make Merrill a better place to live, work and visit.
It is not difficult to see why Merrill likes its parks and rivers. Known as the “City of Parks” since 1900, Merrill contains three community parks, five neighborhood parks, two mini-parks, and four special use parks – Athletic Park, Gebert Park and Prairie Trails Park, as well as the Merrill Memorial Forest, which lies outside the boundaries of the city. Most of these parks border on the Wisconsin or Prairie rivers.
Athletic Park, a local historic landmark, is a 5-acre baseball field that began hosting amateur and semi-pro baseball games in 1925. Completely surrounded by an 8-foot granite wall constructed during the Great Depression by the Works Progress Administration, Athletic Park is one of the most scenic baseball fields in the state of Wisconsin. Athletic Park has played host to such legends as Henry “Hank” Aaron, Satchel Paige and the Acme Packers.
Located on the western edge of Merrill, 508-acre Council Grounds State Park sits beside Lake Alexander, a dammed portion of the Wisconsin River. It offers camping, hiking, swimming, boating, a fishing pier, picnicking and a historic shelter house. If these local parks aren’t enough, Merrill sits as the gateway to the Great Northwoods of Wisconsin, making it just a short drive to more lakes, rivers and forest land for local residents, as well as just a short drive south to the Wausau Metro area with its greater shopping and restaurant opportunities. Don’t forget the nearby Harrison Hills and Underdown. What’s not to like about our location?
For more information about the survey results, contact Dave Johnson, City Administrator at 715-536-5594 or [email protected].