Victorian era dowry becomes 21st century “ecological gift” for LPRC

A tract of local mixed forest that was once part of a dowry is one of several forested tracts of land donated to the Long Point Region Conservation Authority (LPRCA) through a federal program.

The LPRCA’s Gage Tract is located in the seventh concession of the former Windham Township

The 20.23 hectare (50 acres) Gage Tract on the seventh concession of the former Windham Township formerly belonged to the Gage family, before being given to the LPRCA through the federal Ecological Gifts Program in 2020, said LPRCA manager Judy Maxwell.

The Ecological Program enables Canadians with ecologically sensitive land a means to protect nature and preserve it for future generations. Created in 1995, the program offers significant tax benefits through the Income Tax Act to donors who donate land or a partial interest in land to a qualified recipient. 

In this case, the qualified recipient is the LPRCA. “There’s lot of history here,” said Maxwell about the tract, located between Highway 24 and the East Quarter Townline Road.

The sign at the Gage site states that the four daughters of the late Robert and Lucy Gage donated the land in memory of their parents and their brother, Bill.

“In 1892 this 50-acre parcel was the dowry of Roxa Beemer in her marriage to William Gage.

It was inherited by their son Russell Gage and then passed on to his son Robert Gage. The great-granddaughters of Roxa and William Beemer donated the Gage Tract to LPRCA stewardship,” reads the sign.

Roxa Beemer was born in the former Townsend Township in 1859 to Elias Beemer and Agnes McKerlie. The Beemers were a prominent pioneer family. William Smith Gage lived between 1859 and 1918. Records show that their son Russell married Jean Mildred Collver in Simcoe in June, 1919.

The tract consists of mixed deciduous and coniferous trees which the authority monitors through its sustainable management policies. 

To date, woodland restoration on the Gage Tract involved treating and removing trees affected by the Scotch pine beetle, said LPRCA publicist Jessica King.

The federal program requires that each donation must be certified as “ecologically sensitive” according to specific provincial and federal criteria before being accepted under the program. Details about the program can be found online.

Maxwell said that the authority has had various donation arrangements between the authority and land owners wishing to keep and care for natural tracts in perpetuity. “But ecological gifts are a nice tax advantage as they have no capital gains, and you get a tax receipt for your donation.” 