WOOPS! SORRY, GOV. SIMCOE

According to London historian Dan Brock, Governor John Graves Simcoe actually wanted the capital of Upper Canada to be located where Wortley Village is now, rather than on the east side of the forks of the Thames River. But there are some local writers who would not agree.
In those days, there was a great deal of chaos. Of course, there was not much here, just a vast wilderness. Try to imagine that today.
According to Brock, the main east-west "road" was what is now Commissioner's Road. It followed the old trail the Indians used. Brock says it was comparable to Highway 401 today as a way of moving through the wilderness.
There were all kinds of situations where one set of plans over-ruled another. One example, a vast area was laid out for the Town of London, but no one could touch it at the time. Settlements just grew up around it, leaving London as the hole in a doughnut, he says.
During a recent lecture, he used images from old maps to make his point.

Historian Dan Brock.