South Gower: a strange and changeable township

by David Shanahan

When the Township of South Gower was amalgamated with Oxford-onRideau and the Town of Kemptville in 1998, it officially ceased to exist. But that was not the first time that the boundaries and identity of South Gower had been changed. In fact, for quite a lot of its history, South Gower was very difficult indeed to define.

When the Crown decided to fill in the territory between Oxford, Marlborough and the townships fronting on the Ottawa River, it engaged surveyors to undertake the job of laying out four townships in all. These became the Townships of Nepean, Gloucester, Osgoode and Gower. Note: that is Gower, not South Gower, because, for decades after the survey, what we know as South Gower and North Gower were one township.

There is also some debate about how the township got the name “Gower” in the first place. Almost every other township in the region is either square or rectangular; but Gower was a very unusual shape, and, for some, that explains the name. It was a gore in shape, an irregular piece of territory lying between other, regularly shaped lands. Hence “gore” became “gower”, for some reason. This is the explanation given by Thaddeus Leavitt in his History of Leeds and Grenville published in 1879.

But it should be remembered that all the other townships in eastern Ontario were named after people and places in England, contemporaries of the first surveys in the 1790's. The line of townships along the Saint Lawrence were named after the King’s family: Elizabeth, Augusta, Edward, etc.

Oxford was named after the University city, while Wolford got its name from the home estate of the Lieutenant-Governor, John Graves Simcoe. Marlborough, Montague and the others also have their roots in England.

The Township of Gower seems to have been named after Admiral John LevesonGower, Lord of the Admiralty from 1783 to 1789. He was a son of John, the first Earl Gower, and served in the Royal navy, being Captain of H.M.S. Victory, later to be the flagship of Nelson at Trafalgar. Gower had died in 1792, during the time when the townships were being planned. This seems a far more likely source for the name “Gower” than any reference to its strange shape.

In September, 1793, Surveyor General D. W. Smith instructed John Stegman to lay out the borders of the four townships but noted, regarding the part of Gower south of the Rideau, that it “need not be run into Lots at present”. It seems that it was only around 1794 that the boundaries were actually surveyed, and not until 1799 that the first five Concessions and half of the sixth were laid out by Lewis Grant, Provincial Land Surveyor.

In 1830, James West was sent to lay out the remaining concessions, and his Diary reveals a lot about the condition of the land at that time. He left his home in Matilda Township at 8am and reached lot 2 in the 6th Concession of Mountain, a distance of 22 miles, by 6.30 that night, having to travel through “ bad swamp roads, carrying my surveying instruments and some other necessaries”. He worked through August and September to survey Concessions 6 to 9, often commenting on the swamps, the thick tamarack, cedar and alder trees, and the lack of roads. When he finished and travelled home to Matilda, he had to go south to Johnstown and back north again to Matilda, as there was no passable road direct from South Gower to his home. The route he had taken to reach Gower in August was no longer available: “It will be understood that there is no passable road from S. Gower to Matilda only by Johnstown, except in very dry weather when one may pass through the centre of Matilda and through Moun- tain, which way I went when going, but it had rained so much by the time I returned that when I inquired if I could go it I was told I might if I had a canoe to sailing, for there was miles would which would require one. This will account for my being longer coming home and going”.

The manner in which the township was surveyed differed north and south of the Rideau, so that the concessions in South Gower run south to north, while those north of the river were surveyed to run east to west. In addition, part of North Gower included land on the south side of the river, so when the two sections were separated in 1845, South Gower found itself with two Concessions 2 and 3, at either end of the Township, as it is still today.

A further complication arose when it was later discovered that no one was sure whether the concession roads ran to the north or south of the concession lines. This meant that a land owner could find that his home was a great distance away from the road, whereas he had built it thinking it was beside it. Surveying was not necessarily an exact science when it came to South Gower.

Buote leaving United Way Leeds & Grenville

submitted by United Way

The Executive Director of United Way Leeds & Grenville has announced her departure from the post, leaving a legacy of impact and empowerment.

Trish Buote is leaving the post, effective August 18. Buote submitted her letter of resignation last week. She has been Executive Director at the agency since April 2017, bringing more than 20 years of leadership in both not-for-profit and for-profit organizations. She piloted the United Way through a period of transition with the closure of the Procter and Gamble plant in Brockville which was the largest contributor to the organization’s annual fundraising goal, and the COVID-19 pandemic which resulted in the cancellation of fundraising events at the same time as an increase in

Baldwin's Birds

need due to the economic disruption and social isolation caused by the pandemic.

Despite these challenges, the organization continued to outperform under Buote’s leadership, with the 2022 campaign raising $1,011,960 – well above the goal of $935,000.

In addition to fundraising, Buote provided leadership as the United Way embarked on a new direction, focusing on directing funds to where they can make a measurable impact. The agency is in the preliminary stages of transitioning to this “collective impact” approach.

“Although we regret her departure, Trish is leaving the United Way in a good position,” Ian McFall, Board Chair, said. “She has been tireless in her efforts to make this community stronger and more resilient. Speaking on behalf of the entire Board, I wish her well as she embarks on a new opportunity. She is leaving on the best of terms.”

“The last six years have been among the most rewarding of my professional life,” Buote said. “I got the chance to work with a great team of employees, a supportive board, and to engage with a generous and caring community in Leeds and Grenville.”

The Board will soon determine next steps in ensuring a transition to new leadership. For any inquiries, please contact Ian McFall,

Second Batch Blues

Board Chair at imcfall@ burnbraefarms.com

About United Way Leeds & Grenville United Way Leeds & Grenville is a non-profit agency that supports 20 local partner agencies in the community. Its mission is to improve lives and build community by engaging individuals and mobilizing collective action. UWLG is dedicated to bringing people together to build vibrant and caring communities. For more information, please visit www.uwlg.org.

It would seem that our Bluebirds have not given up on trying to bring more of their species into the world and have just about finished with their second brood. Lots of noise from their chicks and rapid disposal of any food coming their way seemed to indicate that they were getting fairly big. At least Mum, or Dad, didn't need to enter the nesting box to feed them, as is demonstrated by the picture of one of them clutching the woodwork by the entrance!

Yuk! I have just looked at my picture a little bit more closely and noticed that there is a small piece of electrical wire attached to the bird, just above the left leg and the tail feathers (lower right hand side of my picture). Hopefully, it is only caught in its feathers and will come adrift pretty quickly. None of us watching the bird had noticed it experiencing any discomfort or inconvenience so, hopefully, everything will be OK. It certainly didn't stop it hunting for food and, thankfully, feeding the "babes".

Our regular evening visitor, one of the Hummingbirds, didn't disappoint last evening, and having fed from our feeder, it flew down and perched in the sunlight amongst the leaves of one of our trees. There are no very bright colours to see, so I suspect that it is an immature one or a female. Of course, it didn't stay for very long before disappearing for the night ahead in its roost, wherever that might be!

Others in our varied avian flock still come to visit, so despite the slowing-down of the nesting activities in our back garden, there is still plenty to keep us interested and occupied at the front of the house, fortunately. I hope the same is happening for you too. Stay safe and well, Cheers, John

Baldwin