Recollections of One of the First Homeowners

(Ed and Susan Merkley were two of Fallingbrook’s first new residents. They moved into their Sandbury house on Brookridge Crescent on April 1, 1985.)

In October of 1984 I happened to be driving up the old Tenth Line Road when a sales trailer for one of the builders in Queenswood Heights was being put in place on the crest of the hill on the east side of the road. It did not look like a promising place to buy a house. At the time Fallingbrook consisted of a flat plateau of clay, a few hundred yards of asphalt,the sales trailer and a deserted stone bungalow which sat on an area of land now occupied by homes at the northwest corner of the Princess Louise storm management pond.

Within a very short time myself and my soon-to-be two immediate neighbours would be the first to have purchased homes in this new community.

At first glance back then the flat acreage of mud and clay didn't look too appealing, but with further exploration one could see the potential for the evolution of a suburban community in a lovely setting with all amenities needed to live comfortably and raise a family. The view from the ridge overlooking the Ottawa River and the Quebec side was beautiful with the fall colors at their peak. There was a nice mix of mature pine and deciduous forest all along the ridge, and the presence of a winding creek and waterfalls was an enticing and spectacular site for anyone wishing to experience city living and yet be close to nature.

The first builders in the area quickly put up model homes along the partially completed streets, Princess Louise, Brookridge and Cezanne Cresents. By March and April of 1985 the first residents had moved in.

At the time there were only two access roads to my house, neither of which is now open. Since Princess Louise did not yet connect to what is now Charlemagne, Marjolaine was used to get from Tenth Line Road to Princess Louise. The second access road was the driveway for the original owners of this property, coming up the escarpment from St. Joseph Blvd just east of Princess Louise Falls and leading to the stone bungalow mentioned earlier. The stone house was soon demolished and continuous construction, growth and change has taken place ever since. The fields that surrounded our new home were soon filled with the houses of other new Fallingbrook residents.

Ed Merkley