Cabbagetown-South St.James Town in Toronto, Ontario — Central Canada (North America)

Castle Frank

Photographed by Tim Boyd, June 1, 2025

1. Castle Frank Marker

Inscription.
The country home of Lieut. Col. John Graves Simcoe first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada 1791-1796. Stood on these heights just south of this site 1794-1829. Named after Francis Gwillim Simcoe, son of Lieut. Governor and Mrs. Simcoe, who died in the year 1812, serving under the Duke of Wellington.

Erected 1954 by Don Valley Conservation Authority.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Notable Buildings • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1794.

Location. 43° 40.451′ N, 79° 22.029′ W. Marker is in Toronto, Ontario. It is in Cabbagetown-South St.James Town. It is on Bloor Street East 0.4 kilometers east of Parliament Street, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 725 Bloor St E, Toronto ON M4W 1J4, Canada. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Greater Toronto

and on the Golden Horseshoe.

It is also in Central Canada.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once a British colony,

the Viceroyalty of New France,

the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

and Rupert’s Land.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Elizabeth Posthuma Simcoe 1766-1850 (within shouting distance of this marker); The Rekai Family (approx. 0.4 kilometers away); Chapel of St. James-the-Less / La Chapelle de St. James-the-Less (approx. half a kilometer away); Church of St. Simon-the-Apostle (approx. 0.6 kilometers away); Sherbourne Blockhouse (approx.

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0.8 kilometers away); James Cooper House (1881) (approx. 0.8 kilometers away); Underground Railroad Restaurant (approx. 0.9 kilometers away); St. Paul’s Anglican Church (approx. 1.2 kilometers away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Toronto.

Also see . . . Castle Frank (Don River Valley Historical Mapping Project).

The Simcoes arrived in the town of York in August 1793 and the construction of Castle Frank began the following spring. Elizabeth noted in her diary September 29th, 1793: "The Governor having determined to take a Lot of 200 acres upon the River Donn for Francis, & the Law obliges persons having Lots of land to build a House upon them within the year we went today to fix upon the spot for building his House." “We went 6 miles by water & landed,” she writes in a later entry, “climbed up an exceeding steep hill or rather a series of sugar loafed Hills & approved of the highest spot from where we looked down on the tops of large trees…. The height of the situation will secure us from mosquitoes”(October 29, 1794).

(Submitted on June 3, 2025, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario.)

Photographed by Tim Boyd, June 1, 2025

2. Castle Frank Marker

Lt. Col. John Graves Simcoe, first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper canada image. Click for full size.

3. Lt. Col. John Graves Simcoe, first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper canada

Source: Toronto Public Library (public domain)

Castle Frank, watercolour by Elizabeth Simcoe, 1796 image. Click for full size.

4. Castle Frank, watercolour by Elizabeth Simcoe, 1796

Source: Archives of Ontario (public domain)

Credits. This page was last revised on June 3, 2025. It was originally submitted on June 3, 2025, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario. This page has been viewed 138 times since then and 25 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on June 3, 2025, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.