Prévost, Quebec

Prévost is a town within the La Rivière-du-Nord Regional County Municipality, Quebec, Canada, and the administrative region of Laurentides in the Laurentian Mountains, north of Montreal. It was created in 1973 from the amalgamation of the former villages of Shawbridge and Lesage with old Prévost on the other side of the Rivière du Nord. Shawbridge was named after William Shaw (1805-1894) who settled in the township of Abercromby in 1847 and built the first bridge over the Rivière du Nord.

It is known for its cross-country skiing and for the Shawbridge Boys' Farm, a youth detention centre operated by Batshaw Youth Services.Route 117, also known as Curé-Labelle Boulevard, is the town's main street crossing the city from south to north. Autoroute 15, the Laurentian Autoroute, also serves the town. The city's main roads also include chemin du Lac-Écho and rue de la Station which both lead to nearby Saint-Hippolyte, Quebec.

Prévost was formerly known as Shawbridge until 1973.

Police services are provided by the Sûreté du Québec, the provincial police force.

Shawbridge Boys' Farm

Shawbridge Boys' Farm, now Shawbridge Youth Centres, is a farm in Shawbridge, Quebec. It was originally used either as a training home for underprivileged, wayward, and orphaned boys or as a youth detention center. It is now called Shawbridge Youth Centres, and is owned and operated by Batshaw Youth and Family Services.

History

The original idea originated in 1899, when James R. Dick, a superintendent of the Boys' Home of Montreal, suggested that a boys' home farm in the Laurentians be built and used for the training of delinquent boys. The farm was built in 1907, after eight years of planning, and a farm named Boys' Farm and Training School was built north of Montreal, in Shawbridge, a small town in the Laurentians.

Although the farm was being used to house orphans, criminals under the age of 21 were sent there to serve time for charges such as robbery, assault, or theft.

The farm had a separate charter granted in 1917, and was also sponsored later that same year by the Rotary Club of Toronto and Montreal, who proceeded to build a cottage on the farm. In total, the farm was sponsored for about $15,000 by the Rotary Club.