Goat Island, well-known stopoff for Grand Lake boaters, hits the auction block
'Can we stop at Goat Island?' Locals concerned they may lose access to spot where children, grandchildren swim
An island that serves as an unofficial gathering place for Grand Lake boaters is being auctioned by the province.
Goat Island is a 1.5-hectare (3.7 acre) island tucked between Cox Point and Wuhrs Beach in the northern part of the lake.
Its arrival at a tax sale is somewhat of a surprise to those who have frequented the island for decades.
"I really never knew who owned it and never really bothered to try and find out. I always assumed the government owned it," Brian Watson said.
Watson said many of his family members lived in the Grand Lake area when he was growing up and he later owned a camp on the lake for 40 years.
When he got his first boat in the 1960s, he began visiting the island. Years later, he took his son there and eventually his grandchildren.
"The island was directly straight across the lake from my place, so I got up every morning, looked out and [saw] the island," he said.
"We travelled out to the island quite a bit."
Chris Spencer, from the Chipman area, who owns a place in nearby Cumberland bay, said going to Goat Island is one of his earliest memories.
His children inherited his fondness for it and so have his grandchildren, he said.
"When we load the boat, even before the boat's loaded, they start asking, 'Can we stop at Goat Island?'"
He said it comes back to there being very few beaches on the lake "where kids can get out and enjoy the water."
It's not steep, "you don't have to have that fear of somebody getting out over their head," and it's always warm because it's shallow. "That gravel base is what makes it so attractive," Spencer said.
Assessed value $3,500
According to the notice of tax sale posted by the provincial government, the island belongs to the estate of Lloyd C. Ryan and will be auctioned at the Fredericton Convention Centre on Jan. 17.
The province auctions properties with unpaid taxes, but a spokesperson for the province said the amount owing is not made public until the day of the sale.
Goat Island's assessed value is $3,500, and the 2024 tax levy was $62.29.
CBC was unable to find the Ryan family to get more details.
Unknown History
Joshua Green, the manager of the media unit for the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick, said information about the island is scant.
It was first granted to Micah Y. Cox in May of 1883 and a portion was later purchased by the federal government from Eliza McBain for a "light site," in 1919.
No one is quite sure where the island gets its name. Some believe that nearby Cox's Point looks like the head of a goat. Green said that no information on the name or the use of the island could be found in the archives.
'Tremendous shame' to lose access
Spencer worries that the next owner could have a less relaxed attitude toward those using the island. Ideally, he'd like to see it in public hands.
"It would be a tremendous shame for the users of the lake to lose access to that asset," he said. "Provincial land around the lake is non-existent."
"Around Grand Lake you could probably count on one hand how many locations there are for public access to the water."
Both Spencer and Watson warn that the island wouldn't be particularly suitable as a spot for permanent structures, because of spring flooding and the local flora.
"You'd never be able to build on it — it floods every year," Watson said.
"There's a lot of poison ivy on that island, and when I used to take my grandkids and my son out there, it was like, stay out of the bushes."
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