Eugène Prévost

Eugène Prévost (; 1898–1965) was a French Canadian carpenter who initially specialized in producing church pews and school furniture. After receiving a commission in 1924 to fabricate, and install a wooden bus shell on a new chassis, his business gradually evolved to one that emphasized the production of coach buses and motor homes. Les Ateliers Prévost was acquired in 1957 and renamed Prévost Car. Eugène Prévost had a lasting impact on the village of his birth; the company he founded is a leader in the industry and remains headquartered in Sainte-Claire.

Early life Joseph Eugène Prévost, son of Joseph Prévost and Obéline Couture, was born on 12 November 1898 in Sainte-Claire, a village in Bellechasse, Chaudière-Appalaches, Quebec, Canada, formerly in the historic county of Dorchester, about thirty miles south of Quebec City. Prévost married Clarisse Leblond, daughter of Alfred Leblond and Léda Fauchon, on 29 May 1922 at the parish church. Upon his return from his honeymoon, he established his first workshop in a shed near the family home.

Founding of Prévost Car

In 1924, Eugène Prévost received from Georges Roy a commission to produce a wooden bus body and frame and mount it on a new REO truck chassis. For the next decade, he only accepted one or two commissions a year to manufacture buses. However, just a few years later, the bus industry suffered a severe slump and many bus manufacturers in North America went out of business. By 1955, activity at Prévost's enterprise was essentially at a standstill. In 1956, Les Ateliers Prévost manufactured only three coaches. In 1957, the company was acquired by business partners Paul Normand and Evariste Laflamme and renamed Prévost Car Inc. By 1951, Les Ateliers Prévost provided employment to more than 200 people.

Public service and later life Prévost became mayor of Sainte-Claire and warden of its church in 1947, posts which he held for five years and three years, respectively.

Eugène Prévost suffered paralysis about 1955, and increasingly required the assistance of his two youngest sons. He died on 2 February 1965 at age 66,

Commemoration

Maison Prévost, the residence for the Prévost family, was designed by architect Joseph Gosselin (1847 – 1924) and is a heritage building which was listed by the Government of Quebec in 2009. The Heritage Society of Sainte-Claire acquired a 1952 Prévost Citadin bus in 2001, and spent the next three years restoring the vehicle. The society also sponsored an exhibition which featured the accomplishments of Eugène Prévost. Other tributes to Prévost include Villa Prévost and Place Eugène Prévost. The former is a retirement facility built in Sainte-Claire in 1970. The latter is a park near Sainte-Claire Church which was dedicated to Prévost in 1988.

Place Eugène Prévost. Un hommage à Monsieur Eugène Prévost pour une aventure débutée en 1924. Bâtisseur d'autocars dont les résultats sillonnent non seulement les routes du Québec mais aussi celles du Canada, des Etats-Unis et d'autres continents. Monsieur Eugène Prévost fut générateur d'idées, d'emplois et a tracé la route de l'entrepreneurship pour ses concitoyens. Une réalisation de la corporation municipale et de la caisse populaire de Sainte-Claire. Septembre 1988