The Collingwood Cenotaph is dedicated to the Veterans of the First World War and was erected by the people of the town of Collingwood. The Cenotaph and is located in Memorial Park, at The Station. The Station, a replica of their train station, originally constructed in 1873, is now home to the Collingwood Museum and the Chamber of Commerce.
In 1923, Canadian National Railway (CNR) agreed to the erection of a memorial on its property, if the Town would sign an agreement. CNR also provided a landscape gardener to assist with the layout for the proper placing of the memorial. The Cenotaph was constructed and dedicated to local Collingwood men who volunteered and laid down their lives in the First World War.
The north and south faces of the shaft lists the names of those who fell. Construction began in 1922, with a public dedication held August 5, 1923. The Cenotaph was designed by local contractor Charles Henry Lawrence MacDonald, who used his brother Fred as a model for the soldier. A concrete slab supports a granite base and stations a 16 foot bronze figure of a First World War Canadian soldier in uniform looking west to St. Paul Street. The soldier holds a bugle to his lips with his right hand, left arm at his side, prepared to play "The Last Post", which is inscribed immediately below the figure.
The Cenotaph is framed by four electric light standards and a flagpole, initially installed in 1923. In 1960 granite "wings" flanking the original Cenotaph were installed and commemorate 52 Collingwood men who died in the Second World War. In 1982, the Korean War Veterans were acknowledged on the wings.
The Collingwood Cenotaph is an important symbol of community pride and provides a focus for a number of ceremonies throughout the year, including Remembrance Day. Maintenance and upkeep of the Cenotaph are shared by the Town of Collingwood Department of Parks, Recreation and Culture, the Collingwood Horticultural Society and the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 63.
There is also a First World War artillery piece on the grounds of the park, as well as a plaque honouring the Canadian Merchant Navy.
