The
Town of York was the second capital of the district of
Upper Canada and the predecessor to
Toronto (1834). It was established in 1793 by Lieutenant-Governor
John Graves Simcoe as a "temporary" location for the capital of Upper Canada, while he made plans to build a capital near today's
London, Ontario. Simcoe renamed the location York after
Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany,
George III's second son. Simcoe gave up his plan to build a capital at London, and York became the permanent capital of Upper Canada on February 1, 1796. That year Simcoe returned to Britain and was temporarily replaced by
Peter Russell.