Near Provincial Highway 17 at Florence Street, on the right when traveling south.
The title "Pieces of Dryden" was chosen for the artwork because all the pieces were collected from the residents of Dryden and the surrounding area… dishes, pottery, mirrors and tiles. Artist's Design Statement The natural beauty of . . . — — Map (db m243233) HM
On King Street just east of Earl Avenue, on the left when traveling east.
In 1923, a garage was built here and an automobile sales and service was operated by "Dryden District Motors", "Dryden Motors", and "Dryden Service" respectively. Vernon Pronger rebuilt the building in 1938, and operated "Vernon's Grocery" here for . . . — — Map (db m243107) HM
On King Street just west of Whyte Avenue, on the left when traveling west.
Born in Reston, Manitoba Sept. 20, 1920 and brought up in Treherne, Manitoba, Grant had a happy, busy childhood. When WWII started, Grant volunteered with the Air Force, serving in North Africa and England. He was on his way to the Pacific when the . . . — — Map (db m243231) HM
On West River Road (Duke Street) (Provincial Highway 594) at Earl Avenue, on the right when traveling east on West River Road (Duke Street).
According to legend, the Honourable John Dryden, Ontario Minister of Agriculture, got off the train at Barclay Tank to stretch his legs on a trip to the west in 1893. He was impressed with the clover growing along the embankment, and as a result . . . — — Map (db m242999) HM
On Earl Avenue at West River Road (Duke Street) (Provincial Highway 594), on the right when traveling south on Earl Avenue.
Alan Durance left behind a legacy of accomplishments the likes of which most people only dream. It all began in 1919 at age 17 when he arrived from England with his parents and siblings and settled on a homestead farm two miles north of Dryden. . . . — — Map (db m243095) HM
On Whyte Avenue just south of King Street, on the right when traveling south.
Alex Wilson was a visionary and a man of many talents and accomplishments. He came to Canada with his Scottish parents at age eight. With a grade nine formal education, he began a life-long period of learning in the real world of the world's worst . . . — — Map (db m243269) HM
On West River Road (Duke Street) (Provincial Highway 594) at Earl Avenue, on the right when traveling east on West River Road (Duke Street).
The west shore of the river is about where nature made it. There was a waterfall where the dam and Duke Street Bridge are now, and an island at the east end of the present bridge. A second channel, also with a waterfall about where you are . . . — — Map (db m242997) HM
On West River Road (Duke Street) (Provincial Highway 594) at Earl Avenue, on the right when traveling east on West River Road (Duke Street).
Before World War II, most of the wood supply for the mill as well as the several saw mills which operated in Dryden was delivered by water. The wood was cut generally in the winter around the hundreds of miles of shore line of Lake Wabigoon and its . . . — — Map (db m242994) HM
Near Provincial Highway 17 at Florence Street, on the right when traveling south.
Dryden has been a center of the forest industry for over a century due to the availability of timber, its location on the Canadian Pacific Railroad and, before the existence of the power grid, the potential for power generation by the Wabigoon . . . — — Map (db m243085) HM
On King Street just east of Earl Avenue, on the right when traveling east.
In 1940, at the age of 21 years, Russell left Dryden to escape the great depression, and to join the Royal Canadian Regiment at London, Ontario. In 1943 he left the peaceful hills of England to land in Sicily as part of the British Army. When . . . — — Map (db m243258) HM
On West River Road (Duke Street) (Provincial Highway 594) just west of Earl Avenue, on the right when traveling west.
Farmer, bush camp foreman, tugboat operator, retail lumberman, husband and father, fisherman, hunter, town councillor, mayor. George Rowat was part of a generation who started life in an era of great potential and who worked hard to build their . . . — — Map (db m243094) HM
On West River Road (Duke Street) (Provincial Highway 594) at Earl Avenue, on the right when traveling east on West River Road (Duke Street).
About 1885 gold was discovered at Goldrock on the northern tip of Upper Manitou Lake about 30 miles southeast of here. A townsite was laid out in 1898 which grew to a town of 500 by its peak in 1908. At that time there were 5 gold mines operating . . . — — Map (db m243000) HM
On Van Horne Avenue just north of King Street, on the right when traveling north.
Built in 1897 by J. S. McFadyenMr. McFadyen built several of the town’s early buildings including the first jail & council chamber in 1904. — — Map (db m243242) HM
On King Street just west of Whyte Avenue, on the right when traveling west.
In 1949 Norman McAuley opened Dryden's first law office. Choosing Dryden was a geographical compromise as Norman grew up on a farm outside of Orangeville, Ontario and Valerie had spent her childhood in Saskatchewan. Norman continued to practice law . . . — — Map (db m243292) HM
On King Street at Provincial Highway 17, on the right when traveling south on King Street.
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 . . . — — Map (db m243054) HM
On West River Road (Duke Street) (Provincial Highway 594) at Earl Avenue, on the right when traveling east on West River Road (Duke Street).
In the early 1900’s the best and strongest wrapping paper was made from Jack Pine using the Kraft process. The process used then required quantities of soap stone, and there are a number of soap stone mines in the Dryden area. The principal forest . . . — — Map (db m242993) HM
On West River Road (Duke Street) (Provincial Highway 594) at Earl Avenue, on the right when traveling east on West River Road (Duke Street).
The area just north of this point was originally an island and the east branch of the river. When the earth dam forming the base of Duke Street was built, the east branch of the river became a bay which was used for swimming. Later a small Hall . . . — — Map (db m242995) HM
Near Government Street (Provincial Highway 17) at King Street, on the right when traveling east.
[left side] Opened in the Fall of 2009, the naming of this bridge after Mr. Roy Wilson recognizes his many contributions to City Revitalization. This 34 meter suspension bridge was built with generous support from the Province of Ontario . . . — — Map (db m243089) HM
On West River Road (Duke Street) (Provincial Highway 594) at Earl Avenue, on the right when traveling east on West River Road (Duke Street).
For 20 years Dryden turned its back on its waterfront, and the river no longer played a central role in the lives of the town. The wood disappeared from the river, and the paper mill retreated from the waters edge. The dilapidated boathouses . . . — — Map (db m242996) HM
On West River Road (Duke Street) (Provincial Highway 594) at Earl Avenue, on the right when traveling east on West River Road (Duke Street).
Construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway was completed through the Dryden area in 1882. The railroad was constructed through virgin wilderness in this area, mostly mature forest which was readily ignited by sparks from the wood burning . . . — — Map (db m242998) HM
On King Street just east of Earl Avenue, on the left when traveling east.
This building was built in 1911 by postmistress, Mrs. Ida Smith. With Ida's death in 1921, her daughter Aldra became owner and postmistress. In 1926, Mr. John Harris became owner and postmaster. The post office was moved in 1939. Mr. & Mrs. . . . — — Map (db m243297) HM
On King Street at Earl Avenue, on the left when traveling west on King Street.
Dedicated in memory of William Jennings (Bill) Silver A papermaker of forty-eight years and husband of Edna Lillian Silver (nee Neely), Bill was a gentle and upright man who loved and supported his family and his community. The Silver family was . . . — — Map (db m243293) HM
On Main Street (Trans-Canada Highway) (Provincial Highway 17) at East Street on Main Street (Trans-Canada Highway).
This aircraft was built from parts of three planes and erected here on false floats in 1995. The original plane — CA-222-3NM — was built in 1952 and assigned to the Royal Canadian Air Force. While the Beech 18 was never intended to be for the . . . — — Map (db m243381) HM
Near Main Street (Trans-Canada Highway) (Provincial Highway 17) just west of West Street, on the left when traveling west.
"The Forest Fire Prevention Act" of 1917 determined fire protection procedures for Ontario. The Act divided the province into separate districts, each under the complete authority of a District Forester. Included under his jurisdiction were the . . . — — Map (db m243299) HM
Near Main Street (Trans-Canada Highway) (Provincial Highway 17) just west of West Street, on the left when traveling west.
On the afternoon of July 8th, 2018 a large wildland fire was detected by an aircraft that was enroute to another fire near the Temiskaming Shores, Lady Evelyn-Smoothwater Provincial Park. That fire turned out to be North Bay Fire #72. The . . . — — Map (db m243392) HM
Near Main Street (Trans-Canada Highway) (Provincial Highway 17) just west of West Street, on the left when traveling west.
The Mary Berglund Community Health Centre is named for the registered nurse who maintained health services in Ignace for over thirty years from the 1940's to 1970's. Mary found herself acting as a general practitioner — not by choice, but by . . . — — Map (db m243300) HM
Near Main Street (Trans-Canada Highway) (Provincial Highway 17) just west of West Street, on the left when traveling west.
The Towerman's job was a lonely one. He could not leave the tower without notifying the Chief Ranger and was required to report in at set times. During hot, dry weather, days off were unknown. A rainy spell might offer a respite from tower duties. . . . — — Map (db m243298) HM
Near Bernier Drive just south of Main Street South (Trans-Canada Highway) (Provincial Highway 17), on the right when traveling south.
Logging operations began locally in 1879 when demand for ties and lumber came with the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway in the area. As many as seven mills operated along the Rat Portage-Keewatin shore lines at one time employing 400 to . . . — — Map (db m245199) HM
On Lakeview Drive (Trans-Canada Highway) (Provincial Highway 17) just west of Ontario Street (Minnesota Street), on the left when traveling west.
Commemorating the lifelong services to this town and district of Dr. W. J. Gunne 1859-1950 As C.P.R. Medical Officer and General Practitioner his splendid life and untiring work were generously devoted to humanity and progress in our . . . — — Map (db m245385) HM
Near Bernier Drive just south of Main Street South (Trans-Canada Highway) (Provincial Highway 17), on the right when traveling south.
Twenty year old Jacques de Noyon is believed to have been the first white man to reach the Lake of the Woods. The year — 1688. In 1717 De la Noue took the same route, up the Kaministiquia River, following a chain of lakes and streams to Rainy . . . — — Map (db m245138) HM
On Main Street South (Trans-Canada Highway) (Provincial Highway 17) just north of McClellan Avenue, on the left when traveling north.
Created by Dan Sawatzky of Chemainus, British Columbia, the mural is titled after a rowing term, “Riding the Flame”, which means the Herculean effort made by the rowers to propel their boats over the finish line in a competition. Featured in the . . . — — Map (db m245303) HM
On Matheson Street South just north of 2nd Street South (Trans-Canada Highway) (Provincial Highway 17), on the left when traveling north.
This mural was one of the first to be sponsored by a local businessman, the owner of this hotel. It shows a gentleman’s bar at the turn of the century, with woodcarving, elaborate glassware & formally dressed bartenders. Two players enjoy a card . . . — — Map (db m245377) HM
Near Bernier Drive just south of Main Street South (Trans-Canada Highway) (Provincial Highway 17), on the right when traveling south.
Reception of the Marquis of Lorne, August 5, 1881 at the Lake of the Woods, Rat Portage Most of the 500-plus inhabitants of Rat Portage, including older Indians and French-Canadian voyageurs, waited along the waterfront behind today's Library, . . . — — Map (db m245165) HM
Near Lakeview Drive (Trans-Canada Highway) (Provincial Highway 17) at Minnesota Street (Ontario Street), on the right when traveling east.
On July 1, 1936, Premier Mitchell F. Hepburn opened the highway between Kenora and Fort Frances and named it the "HEENAN HIGHWAY" in recognition of the public service given by The Honourable Peter Heenan to the Kenora-Rainy River District. Born in . . . — — Map (db m215896) HM
On Bernier Drive just north of 1st Street South, on the left when traveling north.
World Of Sport — Kenora Thistles Win Stanley Cup The story roots in the early 1900's boom + bust expanding Northern America resource economy. Hockey was serious entertainment; fast and furious. Names like Roxy Beaudro, Bill . . . — — Map (db m245000) HM
On First Street South just east of Main Street South (Trans-Canada Highway) (Provincial Highway 17), on the left when traveling east.
This was early frontier Kenora/Keewatin, and was named by the Ojibway people for the many muskrats inhabiting these waters. Venturing into this area were a number of fur traders employed by the Northwest Company and the Hudson’s Bay Company. They . . . — — Map (db m244996) HM
On Trans-Canada Highway (Provincial Highway 17) 0.4 kilometers east of Nethercutt Drive, on the right when traveling west.
On Old Fort Island a half mile north of here, the Hudson's Bay Company erected a stockaded fur trading post about 1836. This was the first known European structure within present Kenora. In 1861 the post was moved to the mainland, where it formed . . . — — Map (db m106495) HM
On Main Street South (Trans-Canada Highway) (Provincial Highway 17) just north of McClellan Avenue, on the left when traveling north.
Rat Portage (now Kenora) Rowing Club was founded in 1890. Its headquarters was built in 1892 on the current site of the Bank of Nova Scotia. Two of its most prominent members are portrayed here against the setting of the Rowing Club and . . . — — Map (db m245320) HM
On First Street North at Matheson Street North, on the right when traveling west on First Street North.
Born at St. Sulpice, Quebec, and ordained in 1849, Father Lacombe took up mission work at Fort Edmonton in 1852. The following year he founded Ste. Anne, first of several Oblate missions he established in what is now Alberta. He won the confidence . . . — — Map (db m106498) HM
On Matheson Street South just south of First Street South, on the right when traveling south.
Created by Mike Svob of Coquitlam, British Columbia, the mural depicts the symbol of Canadian unification after confederation. The Canadian Pacific Railroad which was called “The National Dream” enabled all Canadians to travel from coast to coast . . . — — Map (db m245334) HM
Near Bernier Drive close to Main Street South (Trans-Canada Highway) (Provincial Highway 17), on the right when traveling south.
In September, 1883 an event unique in Canadian political history occurred in Rat Portage. The origin of the story took place thirteen years earlier when both Ontario and Manitoba claimed Rat Portage as part of their territory. Manitoba claimed all . . . — — Map (db m244999) HM
Near Bernier Drive just south of Main Street South (Trans-Canada Highway) (Provincial Highway 17), on the right when traveling south.
The full name given in the charter is: “The Governor and Company of Adventurers of England, Trading into Hudson Bay”. The charter, granted by King Charles on May 2nd, 1670, gave the company “The Whole Trade of All Those Seas, Streights, and Bays, . . . — — Map (db m244997) HM
Near Lakeview Drive (Trans-Canada Highway) (Provincial Highway 17) 0.6 kilometers west of Bernier Drive (Veterans Drive), on the right when traveling west.
Who Was James McMillan?The namesake of the James McMillan tug boat — Mr. James A. McMillan — was a popular logging superintendent with the Ontario-Minnesota Pulp and Paper Company who died unexpectedly in 1942. McMillan was well . . . — — Map (db m245200) HM
On First Street South at Main Street South (Trans-Canada Highway) (Provincial Highway 17), on the left when traveling west on First Street South.
Painted by Frank Lewis of Victoria, British Columbia, the painting features the parade held in Rat Portage, (Kenora) in 1897 to commemorate Queen Victoria’s 60th year on the throne. The Rat Portage Bicycle Club would have come down to watch the . . . — — Map (db m244995) HM
Near Bernier Drive just north of Water Street, on the left when traveling north.
In January 1907, a hockey team from Kenora, comprising E. Giroux (goal), A.H. Ross (point), S.I. Griffis (cover point), T. Hooper (rover), W. McGimsie (centre), R. Beaudro (right wing) and T. Phillips (captain and left wing), defeated the Montreal . . . — — Map (db m199978) HM
On Main Street South (Trans-Canada Highway) (Provincial Highway 17) just south of McClellan Avenue, on the right when traveling south.
Created by Joyce Kamikura of Richmond, British Columbia, the painting features one of the major boat manufacturing companies on the Lake of the Woods and was a landmark on the Kenora waterfront until the late 1960’s. The Clipper was powered by a . . . — — Map (db m245233) HM
On Trans-Canada Highway (Provincial Highway 17), on the right when traveling east.
In August, 1870, a force of British regulars and Canadian militia comprising some 1,200 men commanded by Colonel Garnet Wolseley, arrived in this area en route to the Red River to establish Canadian authority within the present province of . . . — — Map (db m106494) HM
Near Bernier Drive just south of Main Street South (Trans-Canada Highway) (Provincial Highway 17), on the right when traveling south.
Main Street, Rat Portage in 1870 was little more than a collection of buildings on the edge of the Lake. Frank Gardner's business establishment is clearly identified; a pioneer who was active for a further 65 years. Lower photo, taken in 1880 . . . — — Map (db m245198) HM
Near Bernier Drive just south of Main Street South (Trans-Canada Highway) (Provincial Highway 17), on the right when traveling south.
By Water Since Explorer Days By Rail Since 1882 By Road Since 1932 The Keenora: Built in Kenora in 1897, it was the largest steamer ever to operate on Lake of the Woods. It was 128 feet long with a beam of 28 feet. It’s 22 staterooms could . . . — — Map (db m244998) HM
On Hennepen Lane at 2nd Street South (Trans-Canada Highway) (Provincial Highway 17), on the left when traveling north on Hennepen Lane.
Painted by Alan Wylie of Fort Langley, British Columbia, the mural is a depiction of fifteen different outdoor activities which were and are a part of the leisure life of The Lake of the Woods area. Although some of the sports are no longer . . . — — Map (db m245383) HM
On Trans-Canada Highway (Provincial Highway 17) 10 kilometers east of Willard Lake Road, on the right when traveling east.
In the 1870s, Canada needed a reliable all-Canadian transportation route between Lake Superior and the western prairie territories it acquired in 1869. After promising a rail connection to British Columbia, the federal government started to build a . . . — — Map (db m106540) HM
On Trans-Canada Highway (Provincial Highway 17) 10 kilometers east of Willard Lake Road, on the right when traveling east.
John Fowler (1812-1900) was a railway contractor from Yorkshire who emigrated to southern Ontario where he built the Grafton-Cobourg section of the Grand Trunk Railway, leased the Port Hope, Lindsay & Beaverton Railway, and acquired the charter for . . . — — Map (db m106541) HM
