During the mid-19th century, workers constructing the
Victoria Bridge across the
St. Lawrence River discovered a mass grave in
Windmill Point where victims of the
typhus epidemic of 1847 had been quarantined in
fever sheds. The workers, many of whom were of Irish descent, were unsettled by the discovery and wanted to create a memorial to ensure the grave, which held the coffins of 6,000 Irish immigrants, would not be forgotten. Erected on 1 December 1859, the stone was the first Canadian monument to represent the famine. The inscription on the stone reads: To Preserve from Desecration the Remains of 6000 Immigrants Who died of Ship Fever A.D. 1847-48 This Stone is erected by the Workmen of Messrs. Peto, Brassey and Betts Employed in the Construction of the Victoria Bridge A.D. 1859 some have it on the west side of the bridge and train line. From a decision made by some in February 1900, and despite disagreement on consensus published in March 1900, in December 1900 the monument was moved by Grand Trunk Railway. On 18 December 1901 the
Grand Trunk Railway was requested by the delegates of the Irish societies to remove their tracks from the
cemetery where the stone previously rested. The Irish immigrant monument was moved on 24 April 1902 to a granite pedestal in St. Patrick's Park. The
Montreal Gazette newspaper, twenty five years later, printed a remembrance. In 1911 a judgment made by Mr. Justice Mabee declared Canada was large enough for public utility corporations to carry on their business without desecrating graves, and told the
Grand Trunk Railway to install an iron fence and then have the stone returned. On 24 June 1912 the stone was put back and 30 June 1912 agreement papers were signed. The re-unveiling took place 17 August 1913. The fence with
shamrock icon has rusted away over the years and the remainder was removed for being a safety hazard some time after 2009, but not replaced. The cemetery is smaller and the stone is not in the exact location of the first placement, but reportedly fifteen feet away. In June 1966 the stone marking the cemetery was again requested to be moved, but the road was moved instead. The
Autostade was built to the north in 1966. About 75,000 Irish people are believed to have emigrated to Canada during the famine. The official figures (from "the Report of a committee of the Honourable the Executive Council on matters of State"), gave the figures of 5,293 deaths at sea, and "Dr. Douglas, the medical Superintendent of Grosse Isle, estimated that 8,000 died at sea in 1847." ==Social significance==