Dillon is an unincorporated community in the

boreal forest Taiga or tayga ( ; , ), also known as boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by pinophyta, coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, and larches. The taiga, or boreal forest, is the world's largest land biome. I ...

of northern

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

, Canada. It is located on the western shore of

Peter Pond Lake Peter Pond Lake is a glacial lake in the north-western part of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It is located in the Boreal forest of Canada, boreal forest and Canadian Shield within the Churchill Riv ...

at the mouth of the Dillon River. The community is the administrative headquarters of the Buffalo River Dene Nation and is accessed by Highway 925 from Highway 155.

History

The

North West Company The North West Company was a Fur trade in Canada, Canadian fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in the regions that later became Western Canada a ...

had a post near Dillon in 1790. It was called ''Lac des Boeufs Post'' (Buffalo Lake Post). The

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

had a post nearby in 1791. In 1819–1820 Sir

John Franklin Sir John Franklin (16 April 1786 – 11 June 1847) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer and colonial administrator. After serving in the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812, he led two expeditions into the Northern Canada, Canadia ...

noted the position of the North West Company Post on Buffalo Lake (Peter Pond Lake) where Buffalo River (Dillon River) is located. (see map) The first post office opened under the name of Buffalo River in 1926 and closed in 1929. In 1954 the post office was re-opened under the name of Dillon.

Name changes

In 1932 the name of the community was officially changed from Buffalo River to Dillon, the name of the river was changed from Buffalo River to Dillon River and Buffalo Lake was renamed Peter Pond Lake. A lake on the Dillon River just west of Vermette Lake also received its official name of Dillon Lake in 1932. The source of the Dillon River is in Alberta east of Lake Winefred near co-ordinates .

References

{{authority control Dene communities Unincorporated communities in Saskatchewan