The present name is after John Dryden, an influential English poet, literary critic, translator and playwright.

At the 2000 census,[1] there were 280 people, 107 households and 86 families residing in the township.

There were 107 households, of which 30.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 72.9% were married couples living together, 3.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.6% were non-families.

16.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

About 9.2% of families and 11.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.2% of those under the age of eighteen and 6.6% of those 65 or over.