Sherbrooke, city, seat of Sherbrooke County, in southern Québec, Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Saint-François and Magog rivers, east of Montréal. Sherbrooke is a commercial, distribution, and manufacturing center situated in an agricultural and tourist region. Major manufactures include textiles, machinery, clothing, processed food, and rubber, leather, and wood products. Commerce and service industries are also important to the economy. The Université de Sherbrooke is located here, as are the Musée du Séminaire de Sherbrooke (Museum of the Sherbrooke Seminary), the Musée des beaux-arts de Sherbrooke (Sherbrooke Museum of Fine Arts), the Historical Interpretation Centre of Sherbrooke, and the Domaine Howard Gardens. The Old North Ward district contains numerous 19th-century homes. Outdoor recreational opportunities are plentiful around the city.
The first permanent settlement in the area was established in 1802. In 1818 the settlement was named Sherbrooke in honor of the Canadian governor-general, Sir John Coape Sherbrooke. One of Canada's first cotton manufacturing plants opened in Sherbrooke in 1844. The textile industry grew as a result but experienced a decline beginning in the 1950s . Sherbrooke incorporated in 1852.
