George Merrick Rice was an American businessman from Worcester, Massachusetts who had a varied career in dry goods and grain retailing and the manufacture of industrial machinery. He was a pioneer in the steel industry. He was also a banker, serving as president of the Worcester Safe Deposit and Trust Company. He was president of the Worcester Common Council for three years and was a member of the Massachusetts State Senate from 1869 to 1870.
Biography
George Merrick Rice was born in West Brookfield, Massachusetts on 20 Nov 1808 to Col. Samuel Buckminster Rice and Abigail Rice. He attended public schools in West Brookfield, and after serving as a clerk for a few years in a country store in Leicester, Massachusetts, he moved to Worcester in 1829 and became a partner in the dry goods firm Andrew, March and Company. Shortly afterwards, he purchased the dry goods business of Burt and Merrick in 1830 and a few years later he purchased a flour and grain store near the end of the Blackstone Canal in Worcester. In 1846, he became a partner in the firm of Howe, Goddard and Company in the manufacture of calico printing and bleaching machinery. This company eventually became the Rice, Barton, and Fales Machinery and Iron Company. He became the president of the Worcester Steel Works in 1882, installing a Bessemer steel plant in 1884, with expanded operations producing as much as 230 tons of steel per day after addition of an open hearth steel furnace. The business operated for 30 years in Worcester and was one of the largest businesses in the city. He also served as president of the Worcester Safe Deposit and Trust Company and president of the Manufacturers Mutual Insurance Company. Rice was active in Republican Party politics in Massachusetts, serving in the Worcester Common Council and as the Common Council President for three years. He was elected to the Massachusetts Senate in the elections of 1868, serving from 1869 to 1870, and was very active in the temperance movement. He died 10 Nov 1894 in Worcester, Massachusetts and was buried at Worcester Rural Cemetery.
