Dinorwic is an unincorporated settlement in northwestern

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada. It is situated at the northern head of the lake with the same name, along the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

and Highway 17 (the

Trans-Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway (Canadian French, 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 A ...

) at the junction of Highway 72. The nearest major community is Dryden, where hospital service is provided. Dinorwic is named after Dinorwic Quarry, a slate quarry in Wales, UK.

History

Dinorwic was founded when the

(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), 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 ...

(HBC) established a fur-trade post along the CPR at the mouth of the

Wabigoon River The Wabigoon River is a river in Kenora District in northwestern Ontario, Canada. It flows from Raleigh Lake past Dryden, Ontario on Wabigoon Lake to join the English River. The name "Wabigoon" comes from the Ojibwe ''waabigon'', "marigold", or ...

. 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, 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: Dinorwic

Dryden Community Profile
Communities in Kenora District Hudson's Bay Company trading posts {{NorthernOntario-geo-stub