Simcoe's Choice: Celebrating London's Bicentennial, 1793-1993

Albert Stray is Head of Mobile Library Services at the London Public
Library.

As Guy St-Denis explains in his introduction, while 1993 is not
London’s bicentennial as a town (2026) or city (2055), the local
historical society could not pass up the opportunity to publish what is
for the most part new material that shows London’s “relatively long
and interesting history.” The lead article gives a detailed account of
John Graves Simcoe: his life, career, and vision for the forks of the
Thames. Each of the following 12 articles are arranged chronologically,
allowing readers to dip into eras of particular interest. Topics include
art, rebellion, barnstorming, and morality. Each article is accompanied
by black-and-white illustrations and photographs. (Some of the same can
be found in color in Orlo Miller’s London 200 [1992].) All but one of
the contributors include detailed notes.

In the opening article, John Mombourquette talks of Simcoe’s “great
wilderness capital that was never to be.” Though it was eclipsed by
Toronto as the future capital, London, Ontario, has a rich heritage.
Unfortunately, the last few years have seen the destruction of the
city’s architectural heritage in the downtown core. Nonetheless, Peter
Desbarats concludes the final article, “The Future of London’s
Past,” on a positive note, with a vision as important as Simcoe’s.