Dinorwic is an unincorporated settlement in northwestern
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
, Canada.
It is situated at the northern head of the lake with the same name,
along the
Canadian Pacific Railway and
Highway 17 (the
Trans-Canada Highway
The Trans-Canada Highway (French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the Atlantic Ocean on ...
) at the junction of
Highway 72.
The nearest major community is
Dryden
''
John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate.
He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the per ...
, where hospital service is provided.
Dinorwic is named after
Dinorwic Quarry, a slate quarry in Wales, UK.
History
Dinorwic was founded when the
Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) was built through the area, and was originally known as Wabigon or Wabigoon.
Circa 1881 or 1882, the
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business di ...
(HBC) established a fur-trade post along the CPR at the mouth of the
Wabigoon River. Around the same time, the
Eagle Lake Post was relocated nearby. But since the Wabigon Post was situated along the railway, it became more prominent, and until 1884, the clerk at Wabigon was in charge of both posts.
Around 1896, the name Wabigoon was transferred to
a new community growing on
Wabigoon Lake
Wabigoon Lake is a lake located in the Kenora District in northwestern Ontario, Canada. The community of Dryden (pop 8,198) is located on the north shore of the lake, and the primary inflow and outflow is the Wabigoon River. A dam built to provi ...
, and the place was renamed to Dinorwic, possibly named after the hometown of a local Welshman.
Between 1899 and 1901, the HBC post was relocated one mile west next to a CPR station. It didn't operate between 1933 and 1935, and the Dinorwic post closed permanently on December 31, 1965.
References
External links
Ontario Sunset Country: Tourism profile: DinorwicDryden Community Profile
Communities in Kenora District
Hudson's Bay Company trading posts
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