Simcoe, Ontario
| Simcoe, Ontario | |
|---|---|
| — Unincorporated Community in Norfolk County — | |
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 Simcoe, Ontario
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| Coordinates: 42°50′0″N 80°18′0″W / 42.833333°N 80.3°W | |
| Country |  Canada |
| Province |  Ontario |
| Established | 1795 |
| Amalgamated | 2001 (Single-tier municipality) |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Dennis Travale |
| • Governing Body | The Council of The Corporation of Norfolk County |
| • MPs | Diane Finley (Con) |
| • MPPs | Toby Barrett (PC) |
| Elevation | 224 m (735 ft) |
| Population (2006) | 14,522 |
| Time zone | EST (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| Postal code span | N3Y |
| Area code(s) | 519 and 226 |
| Website | www.norfolkcounty.ca |
Simcoe is an unincorporated community and former town in Southwestern Ontario, Canada located near Lake Erie. It is the county seat and largest community of Norfolk County.[1]
Simcoe is located at the junction of Highway 3, at Highway 24, due south of Brantford, and accessible to Hamilton by nearby Highway 6. The town is northwest of Nanticoke in Haldimand County. Simcoe is the centre of an agricultural area known for tobacco, vegetables and small fruits. Brantford railway station serves as the local railway station for this town, even though it is located more than an hour to the north. While Via Rail has an almost total monopoly on the local rail travel; GO Transit is speculated to expand to Brantford by the year 2020.[2]
A local mass transit program is centered around this community and will serve the major communities of Norfolk County in addition to serving the Southern Ontario region in the foreseeable future.[3]
Contents |
[edit] History
| Census | Population |
|---|---|
| 1841 | 1,400 |
| 1871 | 1,856 |
| 1881 | 2,645 |
| 1891 | 2,674 |
| 1901 | 2,627 |
| 1911 | 3,227 |
| 1921 | 3,953 |
| 1931 | 5,226 |
| 1941 | 5,954 |
| 1951 | 7,269 |
| 1961 | 8,754 |
| 1971 | 10,793 |
| 1981 | 14,326 |
| 1991 | 15,539 |
| 2001 | 14,175 |
| 2006 | 14,522 |
Simcoe was founded in 1795 by Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe.[4] In 1878, Simcoe was incorporated as the Corporation of the Town of Simcoe and had its own town council and mayor.
The Norfolk County Memorial Tower in Simcoe, Ontario commemorates the lives of Canadians who died for their country in conflicts overseas.[5]
In 2001, the town and all other municipalities within the Regional Municipality of Haldimand-Norfolk were dissolved and the region was divided into two single tier municipalities with city-status but called counties. Simcoe now forms Ward 5 of Norfolk County.
[edit] Community and culture
Simcoe has its own radio station, CD 98.9, and two newspapers: The Simcoe Reformer and the NYCA Hub. The town is also home to the Norfolk General Hospital. Simcoe was one of the communities in Canada that the Olympic Torch passed through on its way from Athens, Greece to its destination in Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. There was a ceremony in town hall with mayor Dennis Travale handing the torch off to a lucky person.
The Eva Brook Donly Museum is a Victorian historic house museum that also features displays of local history from the founding of Norfolk County right up to the 20th century. All of the seasons the year (except spring) are covered with Simcoe-related events. The Rotary-sponsored Friendship Festival and the Canadian Open Country Singing Contest both are considered to be traditional summer events, locals tends to favor the Panorama during the winter, while the Norfolk County Fair and Horse Show is run as a traditional autumn agriculture fair to celebrate the end of the fertile growing season.[4] Lynnwood/Campbell-Reid House, a Neoclassical house built in 1850-1 for Duncan Campbell, a local banker and Simcoe’s first postmaster, was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1972.[6][7] The only operating alligator tugboat remaining in the world, the W.D. Stalker, is located in this community.[8]
[edit] Education
- Simcoe Composite School (Grand Erie District School Board)
- Holy Trinity Catholic High School (Simcoe, Ontario) (Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board)
- Elgin Avenue Public School
- West Lynn Public School
- Lynndale Heights Public School
- St. Joseph's Catholic School
- Ecole St. Marie (Conseil scolaire de district catholique Centre-Sud)
- Fanshawe College satellite campus
- Bethel Baptist Christian School
[edit] Notable persons
[edit] Sports
- Dwayne Roloson, hockey player
- Rick Wamsley, hockey player
- Ryan VandenBussche, hockey player
- Rob Blake, hockey player
- Jassen Cullimore, hockey player
- John Axford, baseball player
[edit] Education
- Dr. Robert Gardner, Professor Emeritus, Ryerson University
[edit] Entertainment
- Rick Danko (d. 1999),[9] musician (Ronnie Hawkins, The Band)
- Terry Danko, musician[10] (Ronnie Hawkins, Atkinson, Danko and Ford, Bearfoot; session musician with George Harrison, Stephen Stills and Eric Clapton, among others)[11]
- Margo Davidson (d. 2008),[12] musician (The Parachute Club)
[edit] References
- ^ See Norfolk County, Ontario
- ^ GO Transit. "GO 2020". http://www.gotransit.com/public/en/docs/publications/Strategic_Plan_GO_2020_lowres.pdf. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
- ^ Make public transit a top priority at SimcoeRefomer.ca
- ^ a b "Southern Ontario Tourism: Simcoe, Ontario". Southern Ontario Tourism Organization. http://www.soto.on.ca/southern_grand_river_country_and_ontario's_south_coast/simcoe.html. Retrieved 2007-12-04.
- ^ http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0009128 Canadian Encyclopedia Monuments, World Wars I and II
- ^ Lynnwood / Campbell-Reid House, Directory of Designations of National Historic Significance of Canada
- ^ Lynnwood / Campbell-Reid House. Canadian Register of Historic Places.
- ^ Alligator of the North, Barrett Harry, and Clarence Coons
- ^ Danko is interred at Woodstock Cemetery, New York State.
- ^ Brother of Rick Danko. Both Dankos were born in the hamlet of Green's Corners which is immediately outside of Simcoe; see Rick Danko.
- ^ See Canadian Pop Encyclopedia, Biography of Terry Danko; www.jam.canoe.ca.
- ^ Davidson is interred at Oakwood Cemetery, Simcoe. See Margo Davidson Obituary, Ferris Funeral Homes, Simcoe; www.ferrisfuneral.com.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Simcoe, Ontario |
- Simcoe and District Chamber of Commerce
- Norfolk County
- Norfolk Heritage Centre at Eva Brook Donly Museum
- Ontario Museum Association
- Canadian Women Artists History Initiative
- Norfolk General Hospital
- Norfolk Dentists
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