Our Agricultural Roots

Our Agricultural Roots. . , In 1894, The Honourable John Dryden, Minister of Agriculture, travelled to Northwestern Ontario to explore the commercial possibilities of the region. He found clover growing in abundance and, at that time, there was a demand for clover on the international market. , In 1895, the Minister of Agriculture and the Crown Lands Agency set up an experimental farm in Dryden. It consisted of 320 acres and was located immediately north of what is now Highway 17. Property was also set aside for an agricultural fairgrounds and a cemetery. , The first spring planting included wheat, barley, oats, a few roots and clover. A farmhouse was built using local timber and A. E. Annis became manager of the pioneer farm as well as the area's first Crown Lands Agent. To attract farmers from Southern Ontario, the Minister of Agriculture put out a pamphlet promoting the area's fertile soil and its abundance of forest and water resources. , Markets in the area, Winnipeg and Kenora to the west and Port Arthur (Thunder Bay) to the east, were accessible only by rail. At the same time, there were only dirt tracks leading a short distance out of the settlement. Road access finally arrived with the construction of the Trans Canada Highway in the late 1930's. , The early settlement was known as New Prospect. In 1899, the community incorporated into the Township of Van Horne and again in 1910 into the Town of Dryden, named after The Honourable John Dryden. On January 1, 1998 Dryden amalgamated with Barclay Township to become the City of Dryden.