In 1651, the Jesuit priest Buteaux was the first European known to have travelled up the Saint-Maurice River to this river’s first set of great falls.
The name Shawinigan has had numerous spellings over time: Chaouinigane, Oshaouinigane, Assaouinigane, Achawénégan, Chawinigame, Shawenigane, Chaouénigane. It may mean “south portage”, “portage of beeches”, “angular portage”, or “summit” or “crest”. Before 1958, the city was known as Shawinigan Falls.
Shawinigan is a city located on the Saint-Maurice River in the Mauricie area in Quebec, Canada.
The estimated population of Shawinigan is 50,060.
Shawinigan is also a territory equivalent to a regional county municipality and census division of Quebec, coextensive with the city of Shawinigan.
Shawinigan geographical code is 36.
In 1899, the SW&P commissioned Montreal engineering firm, Pringle and Son, to design a grid plan for a new industrial town on the banks of the Saint-Maurice River, providing the ground work for what would become Downtown Shawinigan.
Shawinigan has two sister cities: Hamilton, Ontario, Canda and Mexico Monterrey, Mexico.
In 1901, the place was incorporated as the Village Municipality of Shawinigan Falls and gained town (ville) status a year later in 1902.
The hydro-electric generating station contributed to rapid economic growth and the town achieved several firsts in Canadian history: first production of aluminium (1901), carborundum (1908), cellophane pellets (1932). Shawinigan