The Icelandic Settlement Disaster Memorial, also known as "In the Presence of a Soul" is a memorial at the former railway station in the village of Kinmount, Ontario. Affixed to the concrete base of the sculpture is a plaque, placed by the Ontario Heritage Foundation and Agency of the Government of Ontario, which describes the disaster.
The memorial documents a history of hardship experienced by a group of 352 Icelanders who arrived as emigrants in the fall of 1874, at the village of Kinmount Ontario. Delayed travel plans that soaked up their financial resources, and led to a late arrival in the fall of the year, poor living conditions, and lack of work due to an economic down turn in Ontario, resulted in the deaths of “thirty children…and upwards to ten grown-ups.” The monument commemorated the experience of this group of pioneers. Carved out of limestone in smooth geometric shapes, it described the image of a mother and child. A spiral shape from the head of the figure moves to the left shoulder, creating an arm, which encompassed the suggestion of a child [1]. This abstract sculpture was installed on a concrete plinth with two plaques on adjacent sides. The one on the south east side explained the history of the Icelandic settlement, and the other identified the sculpture. Located beside the railway station in Kinmount, facing the Burnt River, in a southeastern direction, this location references the shanties built by the river, and the anticipated work building the railway. The tragic events of the winter of 1874 caused the new settlers to look elsewhere for settlement. The intervention of Lord Dufferin, the Governor General of Canada enabled the Icelanders to resettle in Manitoba.