A provincial plaque at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Newboro commemorates the two companies of the British Army’s construction corps, the Royal Sappers and Miners, who were raised to work on the Rideau Canal. They built locks and military structures primarily in Bytown (Ottawa) and at the Isthmus (Newboro). One of their greatest challenges was the Newboro cut where they had to hew and blast their way through Canadian Shield granite.

Plaque Text
In 1827 the Royal Sappers and Miners, the special construction corps of the British Army, raised the 7th and 15th Companies to serve in the building of the Rideau Canal. Comprising 160 skilled craftsmen and labourers under the Royal Engineers, the companies arrived that year in Bytown, where they built military structures and locks. The 7th Company was transferred in 1829 to assist in the completion of the canal here at the Isthmus, the only section beyond Bytown built under direct military supervision. Sappers and Miners from both companies executed other major projects, including a dam at the Hog's Back, and performed guard-duty at various locks. In 1831 seventy-one were discharged in Canada and several settled along the canal as lockmasters.