Yes, London, Ontario, is located on the Thames River.

Years ago I wrote a column for the local paper, The London Free Press. The column was called Celebrate the Thames. At that time, I was told the following story by a local historian who claimed that contrary to popular mythology, a mythology backed up with lots of solid quotes from Simcoe himself, London is NOT the capital of the province because of the Thames River. The fellow was clearly swimming upstream, swimming against the current of public opinion.) 

You see, Londoners believe Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe wanted the capital of Upper Canada to be established at the Forks of the Thames River. And at one point, Simcoe did want this. He formed this dream while still in England, encouraged by maps that indicated the Thames was a mighty river.

Simcoe thought the headwaters of the river ended in the Halton Hills northwest of present day Toronto. But arriving in the area he discovered this was not true. Nor was the river particularly mighty. 

Now, Simcoe fought openly with his boss Lord Dorchester on many matters. But when it came to Simcoe's plans for a capital at the forks, Simcoe quickly and quietly acquiesced to Lord Dorchester and Toronto became the capital. 

The historian believed that Simcoe realized he had been out of touch when it comes to reality and the little, shallow-in-the-summer river. Today the Back to the River folk carry on the tradition of seeing myth rather than reality when it comes to the river. For instance, the group confused a reservoir behind a dam with a river.

Back to the River has become a bit of an ironic name for the group now that the Springbank Dam is out of commission and will likely never be rebuilt. Their grandiose dream for the Forks of the Thames may have gone with the disappearance of the working dam.