[5] Sheksninsky District is located on both banks of the Sheksna River, with the western (right-bank) part being considerably smaller than the eastern (left-bank) one.

The Sheksna River was always one of the main waterways connecting central Russia with Lake Onega and with the Northern Dvina.

In the course of the administrative reform carried out in 1708 by Peter the Great, the east of the current area of the district was included into Archangelgorod Governorate.

Instead, Chyobsarsky District with the administrative center in the railway station of Chyobsara (which is now an urban-type settlement) was established as a part of Vologda Okrug.

The area became a part of Ustyuzhensky Uyezd of Belozersk Oblast of Novgorod Governorate.

Simultaneously, the uyezds were abolished, and Prisheksninsky District with the administrative center of Nikolskoye (currently Sheksna) was established.

[2] In 1954, the selo of Nikolskoye, the administrative center of Prisheksninsky District, was granted urban-type settlement status and renamed Sheksna.

[11] A114 highway, connecting Vologda to Cherepovets and St. Petersburg, crosses the district from east to west, passing Sheksna.

The railroad connecting Vologda with Cherepovets and St. Petersburg also crosses the district from east to west.