The "Forge Gendarme" (Gendarme Blacksmith)

On an area of just over 13 hectares, on the site of an old mill, Jean-Nicolas Gendarme had an industrial complex built around 1824. According to an inventory dated 15 July 1851, it comprised:

>> a charcoal-fired blast furnace ;
>> a charcoal-fired refinery furnace;
>> two coal-fired puddler furnaces;
>> two bocards;
>> blowing machines and equipment for iron drawing and calibration of cast iron objects;
>> a sawmill.

The complex was located on three ponds, two of which still exist today, fed by water from the Vrigne and Claire rivers.
From 1876, the factory was rented out to other Vrignois industrialists. The entire building was bought by the Evain family in 1965, but the business ceased altogether in 1969.

In 1991, the building's facades were included in the supplementary inventory of historic monuments. Today, the municipality of Vrigne-aux-Bois is considering renovating the site.

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