In addition to Aguanish itself, the municipality also includes the hamlet of L'Île-Michon, 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) to the east.[6][7]
L'Île Michon
The hamlet of L'Île Michon is located opposite the island of the same name, 700 m from the coast and 3.5 km downstream from Aguanish, on the coast of the Jacques Cartier Strait, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.[6][8]
According to certains sources, Île-Michon was founded by Jean Michon, a craftsman who landed on the island opposite the village to build fishing boats.[9]
Aguanish is named after the Goynish or Aguanish River (ancien name Aguanus River), that flows through and drains into the Strait of Jacques Cartier, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence right at the village. This word of Innu origin came from aguanus, in turn from akwanich, from the roots akwan (shelter) and ich (small). It has undergone many different spellings, including: Goines (17th century); Guanis, Goinis (1744 map by Bellin); Goynish (1776 map by Carver); Agwanus, Aguanus or Agouanus (maps of the 19th century).[1]
From the 14th to the 17th century, the presence of Europeans in the regions of the North Shore and the Gulf of St. Lawrence began with the periodic visits of the Basques and Breton fishermen.
In 1831, the Hudson's Bay Company opened the Nabisipi trading post (also spelled Nabaysepie, Nabaysippi, or Nabaysipieat) at the mouth of the Nabisipi River (just west of the current town site). After a brief closure, it was reopened in 1832, and operated until circa 1860.[12]
The first European inhabitants, fishermen from the Magdalen Islands, settled in the area circa 1849. They were joined in 1875 by people from Kégashka (today Kegaska) and from Nabisipi River.[1] Until the advent of World War II (1939-1945) the growth of the population occurred in concert with the development of the pulp and paper industry.
The place was incorporated as a municipality in 1957.[1]
Notes: 2021 and 2011 income data for this area has been suppressed for data quality or confidentiality reasons. References: 2021[13] 2016[14] 2011[15] earlier[16][17]
Until the arrival of The Whale Route (Route 138)[20][21] in 1996, a regular means of access to the area was the boat service maintained during the navigation season by Clarke Steamship Company, Ltd, sailing from Montreal and Quebec.[22] Also, numerous lakes of the area provide suitable landings for floatplane based at Mingan and Havre-Saint-Pierre. Canoe travel is difficult in the region and require several portages.[23]
^ abcde"Aguanish". Quebec Gouvernement. Commission de Toponymie Quebec. 1968-12-05. Retrieved 16 May 2024. The village is located 20 km west of Natashquan and 56 km from Baie-Johan-Beetz
^"The Explorers Jacques Cartier 1534-1542". Canadian Museum of History. Retrieved 6 September 2024. Jacques Cartier was a sufficiently experienced navigator to be asked by Francis I to undertake the official exploration of North America. There is no doubt that he was already familiar with the sea route that he took in 1534
^ ab"L'Île-Michon, hamlet". Quebec Gouvernement (in French). Commission de Toponymie Quebec. 1986-12-18. Retrieved 17 May 2024. The hamlet is named L'Île-Michon in memory of Captain Jean-Phidyme Michon who was shipwrecked in November 1876
^"Aguanish and Île-Michon sector"(PDF) (in en and fr). Côte-Nord Tourism. 25 January 2023. p. 2. Retrieved 9 September 2024. Touristicical attractions and activities - Map{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
^"Michon Island, toponymy". Gouvernement of Quebec (in French). Commission de Toponymy Quebec. 25 February 1976. Retrieved 7 September 2024. According to some, the island takes its name from Jean Michon, a craftsman who settled on the island in 1850 to build boats.
^ ab"Aguanish history". Official site (in French). Municipality of Aguanish. Retrieved 17 May 2024. The municipality covers an enormous territory of nearly 600 square kilometers.
^Pierre Frenette (2013). "The Gulf Historical Society" (in French). Retrieved 10 July 2024. a legacy left by the meeting of several worlds, including that of the Laurentian peoples, that of the indigenous peoples of the interior and those of the different maritime peoples of the Gulf of St. Laurent
^"The prehistory of Quebec". Archeo-Quebec (in French). The archeology dissemination network. 2024. Retrieved 10 July 2024. Archaic Native Americans exploited all available animal and plant resources. They live a seasonal nomadism
^"Hudson's Bay Company: Nabisipi". pam.minisisinc.com. Archives of Manitoba - Keystone Archives Descriptive Database. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
^"Municipality of Aguanish de la Côte-Nord". Grand Quebec. 2024. Retrieved 16 May 2024. A crab fishing ground to meet the needs of its residents and salmon, out of passion.
^"Whales of the St. Lawrence river". Whales Online. 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024. The estuary is home to belugas all year round. In summer, the estuary also hosts rorquals and other species of toothed whales that benefit from the abundance of krill, capelin and other small fish.
^"The Clarke Steamship Co Ltd"(PDF). 7 June 2014. pp. 41 of 74. Retrieved 17 May 2024. The North Shore service now sailed from Quebec every Tuesday at 9 am, serving no fewer than thirty locales, consisting of pulpwood ports, native villages, trading posts and fishing settlements,
^Duncan S. McPhee (1959). "Preliminary report on the Aguanish region, Saguenay Electoral District"(PDF). Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources - Government of Quebec. p. 8. The Aguanish area was mapped during the summer 1958 - Travel by canoe is difficult within the area and requires considerable portaging.
