It was established in 1972 as Boucher, named after the geographic township of Boucher in which it is located. This name was chosen in honour of Pierre Boucher, former French governor of Trois-Rivières and owner of the Boucher and Boucherville Seignories in the late 17th century. It was not until 1978 that the municipal incorporation was confirmed.[1]
On December 26, 1998, the municipality was renamed to Trois-Rives (French for "Three shores") to better represent the geography of the municipality as it is crossed by three rivers: the Matawin, the Mékinac, and the Saint-Maurice River.[1]
On August 28, 2004, Trois-Rives was enlarged by some 70 square kilometres (27sqmi) when it annexed a portion of the Lac-Masketsi Unorganized Territory.
The municipality has two main roads: Quebec Route 155 (along the Saint-Maurice River on the eastern shore); and St. Joseph road through the village of Saint-Joseph-de-Mékinac along the Mékinac River, reaching the Quebec Route 155 near the mouth of that river. The path of almost all other roads goes along the rivers. Generally, each route is designated as the place name of the headwater lake that feeds it:
Road Lake-to-sleighs (along the discharge of lakes Grobois, Lemere and the sleighs);
"Cent ans d'histoire en r'montant la rivière..." ("One hundred years of history up river..."), published in 1988 during the centenary of the parish of Saint-Joseph-de-Mékinac, written by Francine Juneau, in collaboration with Jeanne Desrosiers. Second edition, 300 pages, over 900 photos. This book describes the history of the parish and families of Saint-Joseph. This reissue features the same content as the first edition, adding a different binding.