Residents from the Township of Nichol met on April 12, 1919, and discussed how to welcome home First World War returning soldiers and honor those who had fallen. The Soldiers Memorial Committee was formed and they contracted McIntosh Marble and Granite Company of Toronto who supplied a Stanstead granite monument engraved with the names of the fallen. At the top of the cenotaph is a maple leaf surrounded by a wreath, set in bronze.
The cenotaph was dedicated on May 25, 1921, with remarks by Reeve T.B. Broadfoot, Lieutenant-Colonel R.T. Pritchard, commander of the 153rd Battalion, Reverend Sullivan of Elora, and Captain Macdonald. The monument was unveiled by Mary Finnie, who had lost two sons overseas: William in 1915 and Walter in 1916.
The cenotaph was first installed at the intersection of Washington and Union Streets on land donated by John R. Wissler, then moved to its current location. Later, inscriptions were added to honour the Second World War and Korean War.
