The area was originally part of the
la Seignorie Rivière-du-Loup. This seignory was formed in 1665 by Intendant
Jean Talon and granted in 1672 to Charles Dugey Rozoy-de-Mannereuil, officer in the
Carignan Regiment. The seignory was thereafter also known as Rivière-Mannereuil for some time. In 1714, a mission was formed by the
Récollets who dedicated it to the patronage of
Anthony of Padua. In 1722, the
Ursulines owned the seignory and attempted to change the name to Saint-Antoine-de-la-Rivière-Saint-Jean but the settlement became known as Rivière-du-Loup or Rivière-du-Loup-en-Haut after the seignory or local river. In 1816, its post office opened. In 1845, the Parish Municipality of Rivière-du-Loup-en-Haut was formed, and abolished two years later in 1847. It was reestablished in 1855 as Saint-Antoine-de-la-Rivière-du-Loup, named after the parish patron and the seignory. In 1878, the main settlement separated from the parish municipality and formed the Village Municipality of Rivière-du-Loup. Just one year later it was renamed to Louiseville in order to avoid confusion with another town called
Rivière-du-Loup in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region. The new name was a tribute to
Princess Louise,
viceregal consort of Canada, the third daughter of
Queen Victoria, who had planned to visit the Mauricie that same year. On January 1, 1989, the parish and village municipalities merged again and became the Town of Louiseville. == Demographics ==