L'Artibonite is derived from the Taino ja'tibonicu meaning "Great High Place of the Sacred Waters."

[citation needed] During that period the actual department seats between the three casicas of Marien, Maguana, and Xaragua.

Some Taino settlements in the departments are Gonaibo, Amani-y, the caves of Dondon and archeological places have been found in the Cote-des-Arcadins area.

At the beginning of the Revolution, St-Marc was burned by Dessalines and Gonaives by Vernet under the order of Toussaint in response to Napoléon's tyrannic behaviors.

In April 1802 during the siege of Crête-à-Pierrot that lasted almost one month, the indigenous troops offer the French generals the greatest resistance.

During that battle, Dessalines threatened to set fire to the gunpowder reserve in case the French would enter the fort.

Gonayiv is the first city to be gained from the French troops by the Indigenous Army, and Gabart freed St-Marc on September 4, 1803.

On January 1, 1804, the city of Gonaives hold the first Haitian political conference and witness the Declaration of Independence under the eyes of Dessalines, Henry, Pétion, Geffrard, Boirond Tonnerre, some British troops and many more.

[citation needed] In the contemporary period, Gonaives rose furiously in 1986 and 2004 overthrowing both Duvalier and Aristide.

One of Haiti's biggest mangrove forests, harboring flamingos and other rare species, is located south of Gonaives.

The department has been in a state of economic decline since insurgencies and coups have reduced the nation's stability.

The biggest economical catastrophe in the department is the Clinton induce low-tariffs on rice coming from the US, destroying the local economy.

Established in 1956, it has grown to provide health care in the hospital and clinics to the Artibonite region with a budget of $6 million in 2015.

The department can better be subdivided into 3 distinct regions: It is also a hub in Haitian machete fencing, cuisine with diri a lalo and has multiple colonial forts.