Name of Toronto
John Graves Simcoe identified the area as a strategic location to base a new capital for Upper Canada, believing Newark to be susceptible to American invasion. A garrison was established at Garrison Creek, on the western entrance to the docks of Toronto Harbour, in 1793; this later became Fort York. The settlement it defended was renamed York on August 26, 1793, as Simcoe favoured English names over those of First Nations languages, in honour of Prince Frederick, Duke of York. Residents petitioned to change the name back to Toronto, and in 1834 the city was incorporated with its original name. The name York lived on through the name of York County (which was later split into Metropolitan Toronto and York Region), and continues to live on through the names of several districts within the city, including Yorkville, East York, and North York, the latter two suburbs that were formally amalgamated into the "megacity" of Toronto on January 1, 1998.
Old Toronto
Old Toronto is the retronym of the area contained within the original boundaries of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, from 1834 to 1998. It was first incorporated as a city in 1834, after being known as the town of York, and became part of York County. In 1954, it became the administrative headquarters for the Regional Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto. The city expanded in size by annexation of surrounding municipalities, reaching its final boundaries in 1967. Finally, in 1998, it was amalgamated with the other cities of Metropolitan Toronto (York, North York, Etobicoke, Scarborough); and the borough of East York, into the present-day city of Toronto. This was not a traditional annexation of the surrounding municipalities (where a city absorbs the said municipalities but officially remains the same city), but rather a new municipal entity that is the successor of the original city.