translate English to French: Named for France's lieutenant-general in Canada in the 16th century, Roberval was founded in 1855 and grew rapidly after 1888 when the Québec-Lac-Saint-Jean railway company (amalgamated into the Canadian National Railway in 1917) decided to make the town its Lac Saint-Jean terminal. In 1903 it became the first municipality in the region to gain the status of a town.
Roberval est fondée en 1855 et connaît une croissance rapide après 1888, lorsque la compagnie de chemin de fer Québec - Lac-Saint-Jean (annexée aux Chemins de fer nationaux du Canada en 1917) décide d'en faire son terminus pour la région du Lac-Saint-Jean.