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Key figures

Origin and history

The Compa, a departmental museum located in Mainvilliers (Eure-et-Loir) on the limit of Chartres, is dedicated to agriculture, combining science, history, techniques and arts. It presents a collection of agricultural machinery from 1800 to 1960, illustrating the cycle of agricultural operations, while addressing contemporary issues related to the environment and food. The museum also organizes cultural and educational events for all audiences, such as parties, demonstrations and concerts.

The idea of the museum was born in 1977, led by the National Union of Service and Distribution Companies for Agricultural Machinism (SEDIMA), in order to preserve the machinery and tools of a changing rural society. In 1981 Chartres was chosen to host the National Conservatory of Machinism and Agricultural Practices (COMPA), after a call for nominations between Niort and Chartres. The Compa Association is created to support this project.

In 1985, the General Council of Eure-et-Loir acquired a former SNCF rotunda of 1905, symbol of industrialization, to install the museum. The renovation of the building, preserving its metal structures and bay windows, lasted 18 months from 1989. The museum was inaugurated on 17 July 1990 by Jack Lang (Minister of Culture), Henri Nallet (Minister of Agriculture) and Martial Taugordeau (President of the General Council).

Initially focused on agricultural machinism, the Compa expanded its themes in 1995 to include agriculture, food and the environment, becoming a museum of society. Labelled Musée de France in 2002, it underwent a renovation in 2016, bringing its surface to 3,000 m2. Its collections, enriched by acquisitions and transfers (such as those of the museums of Ruralies and Agropolis Museum in 2012), have nearly 8,000 pieces, including 130 tractors and 200 machines.

Compa offers permanent and temporary exhibitions, as well as events such as Tractor Day (June, biannual) or Farm Animal Day (September, biannual). Since its opening, it has welcomed more than 980,000 visitors, ranking among the first departmental museums in the Centre-Val de Loire region. Closed in 2020 during the health crisis, it reopens in September 2022 on the occasion of Heritage Days.

The museum's garden, structured in three terraces on the Martial-Taugourdeau esplanade, features a 26-letter eurelian aeditorium, whose tour in boustrophedon (261.5 m) takes the length of the labyrinth of Chartres Cathedral. This place combines industrial, rural and cultural heritage, attracting a family and school audience (40% of the attendance in 2017).

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