Editing John Graves Simcoe (section)

==Legacy==
{{Refexample section|date=June 2016|talk=Self-sourcing examples}}
[[File:Unveiling of General John Graves Simcoe monument.jpg|thumb|right|The 1903 unveiling of the [[statue of John Graves Simcoe]] at [[Queen's Park (Toronto)|Queen's Park]] in Toronto]]
[[File:John Graves Simcoe statue at Queens Park.jpg|thumb|right|Statue of John Graves Simcoe first [[Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario|Lieutenant-Governor]] of [[Upper Canada]] by [[Walter Seymour Allward]] 1903 [[Queen's Park (Toronto)]]]]
* In the winter of 1779, the first known [[Valentine's Day]] letter in America was given by then Lieutenant Colonel John Simcoe to [[Sarah Townsend (spy)|Sarah 'Sally' Townsend]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.raynhamhallmuseum.org/History.aspx|title=History – The Townsend Family and Raynham Hall|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110709120225/http://www.raynhamhallmuseum.org/History.aspx|archive-date=9 July 2011|access-date=31 January 2014}}</ref>
* Simcoe Street in [[Oyster Bay (hamlet), New York|Oyster Bay]], New York is named after him for his destruction of a vast apple orchard and reconstruction of a hill fort on the site.<ref>[[Townsend Cemetery#History]]</ref>
* [[Act Against Slavery]] passed in 1793, leading to the abolition of slavery in [[Upper Canada]] by 1810. It was superseded by the [[Slavery Abolition Act 1833]] that abolished slavery across the [[British Empire]].
* Simcoe named [[London, Ontario|London]], Ontario and the [[Thames River (Ontario)|River Thames]] in Upper Canada.
* He named [[Lake Simcoe]] and [[Simcoe County, Ontario|Simcoe County]] to the west and north of [[Lake Simcoe]] in honour of his father.
* Simcoe named his summer home [[Castle Frank Brook|Castle Frank]] for his first son Francis Gwillim, who was preceded by eight daughters. (It is in what is now named Rosedale, a neighbourhood in [[downtown Toronto]].)<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070929170459/https://www.thestar.com/article/189220 The real Castle Frank]</ref>
* The [[Ontario Heritage Foundation]] placed a plaque in Exeter's cathedral precinct to commemorate his life.
* Simcoe's regiment is still called the [[Queen's York Rangers]], now an [[armoured reconnaissance regiment]] of the [[Canadian Forces]] reserves.

Many places in Canada were named in honour of Simcoe:
* The town of [[Simcoe, Ontario|Simcoe]] in southwestern Ontario
* The Simcoe Fairgrounds in Simcoe
* [[Civic Holiday]], a [[Public holidays in Canada|statutory holiday]] celebrated throughout Canada under a variety of names by region,<ref name="Civic Holiday in ON">[http://www.pch.gc.ca/progs/cpsc-ccsp/jfa-ha/prov_e.cfm Holidays in the Provinces and Territories]  {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140902233719/http://www.pch.gc.ca/progs/cpsc-ccsp/jfa-ha/prov_e.cfm |date=2 September 2014 }}</ref> was established in honour of Simcoe by the Toronto City Council in 1869.<ref name="Toronto Simcoe Day">[http://www.toronto.com/feature/491 Toronto.com – A holiday with history]  {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928045410/http://www.toronto.com/feature/491 |date=28 September 2011 }}</ref> Other Ontario municipalities and then other provinces soon took up the holiday as well, leading to its Canada-wide status, but without any attribution to Simcoe. In 1965, the Toronto City Council declared the holiday would henceforth be known as [[Simcoe Day]] within Toronto.<ref name="Toronto Simcoe Day" /> Attempts have been made to have the official provincial name—still Civic Holiday<ref name="Civic Holiday in ON" />—amended, but none have succeeded.
* [[Governor Simcoe Secondary School]] in [[St. Catharines, Ontario|St. Catharines]], Ontario
* Governor Simcoe Public School. Grades K – 8, in [[London, Ontario|London]], Ontario. The now closed and demolished school was located at the corner of Simcoe and Clarence Streets.
* Three parallel streets in downtown Toronto, [[John Street (Toronto)|John Street]], Graves Street, and Simcoe Street, are all located near the fort where Simcoe lived during his early years in York and were named for him. Graves Street was later renamed Duncan Street.
* Simcoe Street, Simcoe Street United Church, and Simcoe Hall Settlement House in [[Oshawa]].
* Simcoe Street in [[New Westminster]] and Simcoe Park was named by Colonel Moody in reference to the surveying of the area after the city of Toronto.
* Simcoe Street, Simcoe Street School and the Simcoe Street School Tigers Bantam Baseball Team of Niagara Falls
* [[Simcoe Island]], located near [[Kingston, Ontario|Kingston]], Ontario
* [[Simcoe Hall]], located on the [[St. George]] campus of the [[University of Toronto]]
* [[John Graves Simcoe Armoury]], located on Industrial Parkway in [[Aurora, Ontario|Aurora]], Ontario
* Governors Road, a named section of [[Ontario Highway 99]] running between [[Dundas, Ontario|Dundas]], Ontario and [[Paris, Ontario|Paris]], Ontario

Two places have been named for Simcoe with the title ''Lord'', even though Simcoe was never a Lord in his lifetime:
* Lord Simcoe Drive in [[Brampton]], Ontario
* [[Lord Simcoe Hotel]], which operated from 1956 to 1981

[[Captain (armed forces)|Captain]] John Kennaway Simcoe, the last member of the Simcoe family, died without issue in 1891 and was survived by his widow beyond 1911.<ref name="fadedpage1">{{cite book |url=https://www.fadedpage.com/books/20120712/20120712.html |title=The Diary of Mrs. John Graves Simcoe |first=John Ross |last=Robertson |publisher=William Briggs |date=1911}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=June 2016}}

===In popular culture===
A fictionalised version of John Graves Simcoe is a primary antagonist in the 2014–2017 [[AMC (TV channel)|AMC]] drama ''[[Turn: Washington's Spies]]'', portrayed by [[Samuel Roukin]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.amc.com/shows/turn/cast-crew/john-graves-simcoe|title=Turn – Cast – AMC |publisher=amctv.com |access-date=4 January 2017}}</ref> He is portrayed in the series as a cruel and ruthless sociopath.

Despite the strong fictionalisation of the namesake TV-show character, several biographical aspects of the latter's historical counterpart appear to have been adapted for and transferred onto the fictional character Edmund Hewlett. For instance, Hewlett's romantic ambitions regarding [[Anna Strong (spy)|Anna Strong]] in the series resemble Simcoe's courtship of [[Sarah Townsend (spy)|Sarah Townsend]], sister of [[Culper Ring]] spy [[Robert Townsend (spy)|Robert Townsend]], for whom he wrote a poem that is thought to be the first verifiable valentine on the North American continent.<ref>{{cite web |title=America's First Valentine |url=https://raynhamhallmuseum.org/americas-first-valentine/ |website=Raynham Hall Museum |access-date=20 December 2020}}</ref> It is presumed that Townsend, much like the fictionalised portrayal of Anna Strong on ''Turn'', may have gathered and passed on intelligence gleaned from her unsuspecting suitor to the Culper Ring.

Similarly, Hewlett's close bond with his horse Bucephalus (presumably named after [[Bucephalus]], the horse of [[Alexander the Great]]) which overarches all four seasons, appears to have been inspired by history: in 1783, John Graves Simcoe sent a series of letters to New York in order to find the horse he had ridden on campaign, Salem. Salem was located and Simcoe subsequently paid the considerable sum of £40 to have him shipped to England and thus returned to him.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Beacock Fryer |first1=Mary |title=John Graves Simcoe, 1752-1806 A Biography |date=1998 |publisher=Dundurn |location=Toronto |page=96}}</ref> Shortly before his departure to Upper Canada almost a decade later, it is reported he was greatly concerned for Salem's welfare in his absence, therefore making arrangements for the latter's care and upkeep.<ref>Beacock Fryer, p. 125.</ref>