Before settlement by Europeans, the Dryden area was inhabited by the
Anishinaabe. They used the shore by the Wabigoon River as a camping site, calling it Paawidigong ("the place of rapids" in
Ojibwe). The settlement was founded as an agricultural community by
John Dryden, Ontario's
Minister of Agriculture in 1895. While his train was stopped at what was then known as Barclay Tank to re-water, he noticed
clover growing and decided to found an experimental farm the following year. The farm's success brought settlers from
southern Ontario and the community came to be known as New Prospect. In 1886, gold was discovered near the area, also attracting people. In 1897, the community was renamed to Dryden to honour the minister of agriculture. It incorporated as a town in 1910 and as a city in 1998 after merging with the neighbouring township of Barclay. One of the earliest industries in the area was
pulp and paper. A paper mill was built in the town in 1910 because of the abundance of wood suitable for
kraft pulping as well as energy from the
Wabigoon River. The town came into national consciousness because of
mercury contamination. In the 1970s, it became known that the Dryden pulp and paper operations discharged ten tons of mercury directly into the Wabigoon River over a span of eight years. The mercury caused persistent environmental damage, poisoned river systems and lakes, and led to members of the
Grassy Narrows community suffering severe
mercury poisoning known as
Minamata disease. The town was also the site of the March 10, 1989 crash of
Air Ontario Flight 1363 from
Thunder Bay to
Winnipeg, which killed 24 people. == Geography ==