A large number of flint leaf tips dating from the Solutrean (Paleolithic) period were found near Digoin, in Volgu, indicating very early human settlement. Further Gallo-Roman and Merovingian traces of a settlement have been found. The place was known by the Latin name Denegontium, later Digonium.
For several centuries, the city's activities developed on the banks of the river, where a port had been established on the Loire. From there, wine from the Mâcon and Chalon-sur-Saône area, wood from the Morvan, and stone blocks were exported to the Loire Valley and Paris.
At the end of the 18th century, the construction of the Canal du Charolais (today: Canal du Centre) was pushed forward from Burgundy to connect the Saône with the Loire. This canal became navigable from 1794, intensifying the problems with the Loire's unreliable navigability.
With the construction of the Roanne-Digoin Canal (1832) and the Loire Side Canal, shipping on the Loire itself gradually reduced and ceased completely during the second half of the 19th century. A stone canal bridge 243 meters long (eleven arches) enables the central canal to be linked to the Loire side canal. At the end of the 19th century, water from the Arroux River was diverted near Gueugnon and channeled into the Canal du Center via a supply canal east of the city in order to improve the canal's water supply. At that time, this canal was navigable for small ships. In the 1950s, the port of Gueugnon was closed and shipping on this supply channel ceased.
Even after the decline of inland shipping, Digoin was an important transport hub for rail and road connections due to its central length.
Thanks to good transport links, Digoin was able to expand its economy by establishing potteries and the Sarreguemines earthenware industry.
Source: Wikipedia