Merry Pier is named after Captain Kenneth B. Merry, a resident of Pass-a-Grille since 1900.  Captain Merry lived in Pass-a-Grille for 83 years.

The pier has been an important part of Pass-a-Grille since 1902 when the Merry family opened a general store on the end of the dock that he and his wife built at the end of 8th Avenue.  It was the first store on the Gulf Beaches and originally sold bait and tools and rented boats, eventually adding groceries.