Province Québec | Phone +1 514-928-7196 | |
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Address Bridge St, Montreal, QC H3K 1X8, Canada Hours Open today · Open 24 hoursWednesdayOpen 24 hoursThursdayOpen 24 hoursFridayOpen 24 hoursSaturdayOpen 24 hoursSundayOpen 24 hoursMondayOpen 24 hoursTuesdayOpen 24 hours Similar Victoria Bridge, Irish Hunger Memorial, Ireland Park, Lachine Canal | ||
Walk to the irish commemorative stone
The Irish Commemorative Stone (also known as the Black Rock) is a monument in Montreal, Quebec commemorating the deaths of 6,000 Irish immigrants to Canada during the famine immigration.
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Officially named the Irish Commemorative Stone, it is more commonly known as the Black Rock and also has been referred to as the Ship Fever Monument. or the Boulder Stone.
History
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 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 December 1, 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.
Social significance
The Black Rock, continues to be a significant icon, particularly within the Montreal Irish community, led by the Ancient Order of Hibernisn Canada. Each year at the end of May, the Canadian Irish community hosts a walk from St-Gabriel's church in Pointe St. Charles to the stone to commemorate those lives that were lost.