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Simcoe is a town of approx. 16,000 people in southwestern Ontario, near Lake Erie, and is the administative centre (seat) of Norfolk County, Ontario. It is located at the junction of Highway 3, at Highway 24, due south of Brantford, Ontario, and accessible to Hamilton by nearby Ontario provincial highway 6. The town is also located northwest of Nanticoke in Haldimand County.
Local History
It was named after the first Lieutenant governor of Upper Canada (Ontario), John Graves Simcoe; The community of Simcoe should not be confused with Simcoe County, located on the north shore of Lake Simcoe, of the many places he is named after in Ontario. People seeking local history can check out the Eva Brook Donly Museum where kind and professional curators will answer questions about the history of the region.
Famous people from Simcoe and area include hockey players Rob Blake, Jassen Cullimore, Red Kelly (also coach and politician), and Dwayne Roloson, while musician Rick Danko (The Band) came from nearby Green's Corners.
Community Events
Simcoe is well known for annual community events including the Friendship Festival, Panorama, and most notably, the Norfolk County Fair and Horse Show, held every October.
Academia
Simcoe is also well known for its Simcoe Composite School where a new state-of-the-art gymnasium was built, after the old gymnasium was burned in a fire in October 2003. A fully modern Catholic High School is another recent addition to the town. In addition to this, there are also three elementary schools: Elgin Avenue Public School, West Lynn Public School, and Lynndale Heights Public School.
Health and Medical
There are two free clinics in the town of Simcoe and a general hospital.
Free Clinics in Simcoe
The Former Municipality of Simcoe
From the 19th century to early 2000, Simcoe had its own town council and mayor. The people from the town of Simcoe and its immediate outskirts would elect the former Corporation of the Town of Simcoe. Rick Kowalsky was the last mayor of Simcoe before it become part of the Norfolk County single-tier municipality.
This is list of mayors who served the former municipality of Simcoe, Ontario.
Note: the list is not complete
- 1992-2000: Rick Kowalsky
- 195?-1992: Jim Earl
Recent News
Simcoe has recently renovated its downtown core. Growth in the town continues at a slow pace, although the addition of a new Toyota parts plant is expected to accelerate that. Simcoe is also the home to three shopping malls, the largest of them being the Simcoe Town Centre mall near the Royal Canadian Legion and the Simcoe Public Library. Housing growth is also being fueled in part by long-distance commuters to the larger towns of Brantford and Hamilton, and retirees escaping to its small-town lifestyle. Housing costs still remain lower on average than other centres across Ontario.
There has been some controversy over the potential addition of a Wal-Mart store and the expansion of the existing Canadian Tire, both of which are "on the books" but yet to pass the final legislative hurdles.
"Simcoe, Ontario"