Simcoe County, in particular the former
Wendake area near
Nottawasaga Bay, was the site of the earliest French exploration and settlement of
Ontario; they were the first Europeans in the area. Several historic sites, including
Carhagouha and
Sainte-Marie among the Hurons, mark the earliest known contacts between the area's traditional
Huron population and French
missionaries. The Huron capital,
Ossossané, was at one time the largest aboriginal settlement in all of
North America outside
Mexico. The County, named by
Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada John Graves Simcoe in honour of his father Captain John Simcoe, was established as part of the
Home District in 1798 by the
Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada. Its initial territory was described as follows: At its beginning, the County existed only for military enlistment. In 1823, it became a separate
constituency for elections to the
Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada, but, as eligibility to vote was dependent upon having title to property, and Simcoe's first registrar of deeds was not appointed until 1826, it did not send a separate member to the Assembly until the election of
John Cawthra in 1828. It was withdrawn from the Home District in 1837, with its territory divided as follows: Between 1837 and 1841, several acts were passed by the Legislature of Upper Canada that set apart the Simcoe District. These acts named the townships that the County would encompass and authorized the levying of taxes for the purpose of constructing a jail and courthouse. On January 11, 1843, the jail and courthouse having been duly erected, the Governor General proclaimed the County of Simcoe to be a separate and distinct District. The province of Canada also appointed
James R. Gowan as the first judge of the District of Simcoe. The District was restructured in 1845, changing its composition to the following 24 townships: • Adjala • Artemesia • Collingwood • Essa • Flos • West Gwillimbury • Innisfil • Medonte • Matchedash • Mulmur • Mono • Nottawasaga • Osprey • Oro • North Orillia • South Orillia • Saint Vincent • Sunnidale • Tay • Tecumseth • Tosorontio • Tiny • Uphrasia
(sic) • Vespra Effective January 1, 1850, the Simcoe District was abolished, and Simcoe County was organized for municipal purposes. Between 1845 and 1851, there had been a campaign to have the part of West Gwillimbury south of the
Holland River annexed to
York County. The County Council finally agreed to this action in 1851, subject to arbitration as to the division of liabilities. It was implemented by an Act of the
Parliament of the Province of Canada later that year. On January 1, 1852, after transferring its five western townships to
Grey County, the County was defined as including the following townships: • Adjala • Essa • Flos • Gwillimbury West • Innisfil • Matchedash • Medonte • Mono • Mulmur • Nottawasaga • Orillia • Oro • Sunnidale • Tay • Tecumseth • Tiny • Tossorontio
(sic) • Vespra Together with the
unorganized territory bounded to the north by the
French River, to the south by the
Severn River and Rama Township, to the west by
Lake Huron and to the east by the former boundary between the
Home District and the
Newcastle District as extended to the French River. The unorganized territory, some of which had been surveyed into townships, together with parts of
Victoria County and
Nipissing District, was withdrawn in 1868–1869 to form the new
District of Muskoka and
District of Parry Sound. However, any municipalities established in them still formed part of the original counties for municipal purposes, and they were still responsible for the administration of justice, which proved to be problematic. The portions of the districts that were not part of Simcoe County were transferred to it in 1877. This lasted until 1888, when the territory contained within the districts was separated from Simcoe County. Mono and Mulmur Townships were withdrawn from Simcoe County in 1881 and transferred to the newly formed
Dufferin County. Mara and Rama Townships were transferred to Simcoe County following the dissolution of
Ontario County in 1974.
Restructuring (1994) . In 1994, the County was restructured into 16 local municipalities: • Town of
Bradford West Gwillimbury • Town of
Collingwood • Town of
Innisfil • Town of
Midland • Town of
New Tecumseth • Town of
Penetanguishene • Town of
Wasaga Beach • Township of
Adjala–Tosorontio • Township of
Clearview • Township of
Essa • Township of
Oro-Medonte • Township of
Ramara • Township of
Severn • Township of
Springwater • Township of
Tay • Township of
Tiny The cities of
Barrie and
Orillia are separated from the County, as are three
Indian reserves: •
Christian Island 30 •
Christian Island 30A •
Mnjikaning First Nation 32 ==Demographics==