This memorial was erected in 1924 by the Town of Rosseau in proud and loving memory of the men of Rosseau, Humphrey and Cardwell who gave their lives.
In 1921, Mr. Clarence Shaw and Rev. Joe Ditchburn discussed the idea of the Rosseau Memorial Community Hall serving as a Memorial Hall to "the boys from this area who served and died during W.W. I". The first meeting of the Rosseau Memorial Hall board of management was held in the Town Hall at the corner of Victoria and 141, on August 13, 1921.
The first elected officers of the Rosseau Memorial Hall board of management were: Dr. Samuel A. Foote, Chairman, Finance & Building Committee; Mr. E.J. Sirett, Secretary, Building Committee; Mr. William Ashdown, Treasurer; Mr. J.S. Ditchburn, Finance Committee; Mr. W. Wright, Finance Committee; Mr. George Jackson, Building Committee; Mr. Alf Clubbe, Building Committee; Mrs. Elizabeth Atkinson, Building Committee. In September 1921, the plans for the hall, submitted by Mr. Stevens, architect for Sir John Eaton, were approved. Pledges were gathered for money or labour.
The stone for the building was quarried from cliffs a few miles away on Muskoka Road 3, and brought to town with a wagon by volunteers. The cement came from Bracebridge by steam boat and all the lumber for the building was cut by the Stoneman brothers at their sawmill.
In 1923, Mr. E. Scat Peterson's tender for the stonework was accepted at the price of $2,553. On July 19, 1924, the Hall Committee decided that the unveiling of the Memorial Tablet would coincide with the opening of the Hall. The Council was asked to move the old Town Hall off the site of the new Hall and raise $3,000 and loan to the Committee of the Hall or give the deed of the Hall to the Committee for five years in order that they may raise money to complete the Hall.
The first meeting of the Hall Committee in the new Hall was held on October 19, 1924. A committee of six members were appointed to ensure that the rules and regulations were carried out. Mr. J. Ariss was the Chairman and the Board members were: Mr. Fred Einarson Sr., Mr. A. McGary, Mr. C.E. Stuart, Mr. V. Einarson, and Mr. J. Brown. The foundation sat open the first winter of 1923-24.
The Rosseau Memorial Community Hall was opened by the unveiling of the Memorial Tablet placed on the front wall of the building on August 27, 1924 at 2:30 pm in the presence of a large crowd of residents and summer visitors. The Hall first had a red tile roof, but in the 1929, the steel shingles were installed. It was heated with a wood furnace. The ceiling upstairs was left open to the rafters, but closed in 1927. The Hall was wired for electricity in 1931 and the washrooms installed in 1951.
The first meeting of the Women's Institute was held on August 28, 1924. In 1934, the Women's Institute paid 50% of the cost of the first sink in the kitchen. On Sunday, May 8, 1949, a bronze tablet bearing the names of the men of the Village of Rosseau and the Townships of Cardwell and Humphrey who fell in the First and Second World Wars and a scroll bearing the names of those from the same municipalities who served in these wars were unveiled and dedicated.
