Founded in 1758, the town takes its name from Col. Thomas Gage, the original grantee.
Gage fought alongside George Washington at the Battle of the Monongahela, where a column of 1300 British (including Virginia Regiment locals) were routed by 100 French Marines, 150 New France militia, and 650 Indians. The Brits ended up with 900 casualties including their commander, General Braddock, whereas the French and Indians lost 90. Gage took field leadership of the Englishmen and Washington of the Virginians after the death of Braddock and organised the retreat, such as it was.
Gage later held the posts of Governor of Montreal (immediately after the British took over New France for good in 1760) and Commander-In-Chief, North America 1763-1773, and 1774-1775. He was married to a Colonial, a grand-daughter of Stephanus Van Cortland.
The people of Gagetown we've met are without exception very friendly and very proud of their legacy. Among the many we have met, Tony (a Brit transplant) gave us navigational recommendations and a tour of his bucket trawler, the Thomas Gage; Wilf and Christina were excellent hosts at their family farm; and Brenda at the Gagetown Cider Company introduced us to her family's original ciders, bubblys and wines, available only on site and in Moncton.
Brenda's dog decided to walk us from the Gagetown Cider Company's warehouse to our Zodiac, which we had left at Fox's Wharf, right at the entrance of the orchards. Remarkably, he waited at the wharf until we tied off, then immediately he got up and went home.