July 30, 2010
Holiday Monday coming up for many people. Known as the Civic Holiday in much of Ontario, it's a little more personal in these parts, where we call it Simcoe Day, in honour of the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada -- John Graves Simcoe. But Bruce Beacock at the Simcoe County Archives says Simcoe was a lot more than that. He was ambitious road builder, responsible for the two major north/south and east/west routes in Ontario we know as Yonge Street and Dundas Street. Anticipating problems with the United States, Beacock says Simcoe established a Great Lakes naval force and moved the capital from what is now Niagara on the Lake to what is now Toronto. Simcoe also played a huge role in the abolition of slavery.
To learn more about John Graves Simcoe and his legacy, with Simcoe County Archivist Bruce Beacock, click on the arrow below.