Harry McLean (1881-1961) was a towering figure in Merrickville, and his companies (Grenville Crushed Rock/Stone and Dominion Construction) were vital to the development of Canadian infrastructure at the start of the twentieth century. McLean had eight stone cairns built at major project
locations to commemorate the sacrifices of workers who had been injured or killed in the construction of railroads, dams and power plants. A ninth cairn was located at Washburn, North Dakota t commemorate his parents.

Each cairn incorporated a bronze plaque engraved with Rudyard Kipling’s poem The Sons of Martha - a work that celebrates trades-people, engineers and labourers. The first such monument was constructed in the year 1925 at Deeks Quarry, located just east of Merrickville, Ontario. That original cairn still stands today, albeit in a deteriorated condition and partly surrounded by bush.

 The Professional Engineers of Ontario, working with interested local citizens, created a full-scale replica of the original Deeks Quarry cairn and gave it a permanent home at a more visible location in the village of Merrickville. Photo 2 shows the newly unveiled cairn and photo 3 is a closeup of the bronze plaque set to one side of its final location. In addition to a memorial to those who died, the plaque has the first two stanzas of the Sons of Martha poem inscribed on it. The remaining six stanzas are presented two per plaque on the other three sides of the cairn (see below for the complete poem).

The unveiling of this new cairn celebrates not only the centenary of the original’s construction in 1925, but also the centenary of the first Iron Ring Ceremonies – a uniquely Canadian rite for graduating engineers that confers to each a ring to be worn as a solemn reminder to uphold high career standards of ethics, competence and responsibility. The Sons of Martha poem forms an integral part of the ceremony.

The new cairn, which was unveiled on Saturday 9 August 2025, incorporates a time capsule which will remain locked for fifty years (photo 3 shows the cover of the time capsule removed). Included in it are two articles by Colin Churcher which appeared in Branchline. These are:

Harry McLean’s Dominion Construction and Grenville Crushed Rock Operations at Deeks. Branchline, January 2009, https://churcher.crcml.org/Articles/Article2009_12.html, and

The Sons of Martha Cairns, Branchline, April 2015, https://churcher.crcml.org/Articles/Article2015_02.html.

It should be noted that there is actually a tenth cairn erected at Churchill, Manitoba. This presents somewhat of a mystery because Harry McLean was not involved in the construction of the line to Churchill.

Bytown Railway Society "Branchline" January/February 2026