Dryden held the position of supervising architect for School District No. 1 from 1901 until 1912.  Evans School served as an elementary school for 69 years, briefly containing junior high classes in 1917.  For many years the school was the only one in the area that served deaf, blind, or physically handicapped students.  The school was retired and closed in the early 1970s and has sat empty ever since.