Early history The inhabitants to the Atikokan area at the time of first contact with Europeans were the "Oschekamega Wenenewak" (
Ojibwa/Chippewa). They lived by themselves until the arrival of
Jacques de Noyon in 1688. His journey was critical for the expansion and exploration of the Atikokan area.
19th century to mid-20th century The road to Atikokan Palliser Gladman-Hind suggested the first real road in the area, he intended for it to go as far as possible starting from Arrow Lake, and after the road's end travellers would take a waterway to Fort Frances. Simon Dawson, on the other hand, thought the road could go from
Dog Lake, to Thunder Bay, then using a series of dams, would allow even the larger boats to travel along the route of
Dog River, Savanne River, Lac des Mille Lacs, via Pickerel Lake and
Sturgeon Lake. The government, ignoring both plans, decided to build a road west of Lac des Mille Lacs, down the Seine River and finally into
Rainy Lake. In 1859,
Simon James Dawson was hired to begin the route, but the plan was held up due to poor economic conditions in the east. In 1867, after Confederation, there became an increased need for communication to the west. Construction of the Dawson Trail began in
Prince Arthur's Landing in 1868. Construction was sped up in 1869 as the
Riel Rebellion resulted in the need to transport troops.
Mining The potential for Steep Rock iron mine was revealed in 1897 by a non-resident geologist, William McInnis. Nothing was done until the winter of 1929–1930, when Julian Cross started interviewing iron and steel companies to try to unlock Steep Rock's potential. He finally convinced a company from
Duluth, Minnesota, led by Robert Whiteside to take the job. From 2012 until 2014, the Atikokan Generating Station was converted from a coal-fueled to a hundred percent biomass-fueled plant. On February 1, 2013, Resolute Forest Products announced its plans to develop a new single-line random-length sawmill located in the Atikokan area, to be operational in 2014. The plan would create 90 direct jobs in Atikokan, with the additional benefit of supplying residual forest products to nearby pulp and paper mills. ==Climate==