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Key figures

Origin and history

The Fougères sawmill, built in the last quarter of the 19th century in Plainfaing (Vosges), was an industrial complex typical of the region. The main building, in lime-burdened moellons, housed two levels of housing and the majority of machinery, while three wooden annexes served as depots and housed the hydraulic wheel. The latter, which was vertical and fed by a forced underground pipe, measured 8 metres in diameter and drew its energy from a water reservoir derived from the Meurthe. The equipment consisted of a high-iron, a double roller made by the Beyer establishments in Saint-Dié, and a circular saw to be delineated, all operated by a gear and belt system.

The operation also included a house, a log storage hall and a wheel room. On the ground floor of the house was a large high-iron, while the adjacent hall housed a small high-iron, with the machinery and wheel installed in the basement. The sawmill, registered as a Historical Monument on 24 February 1986, suffered a devastating fire in December 1993, followed by the demolition of the ruins in 1995. It was officially removed from the list of Historic Monuments on 18 December 2001, after receiving work in 1937, including the reconstruction of the wheel in 1933.

The architect Constant Ruyer is mentioned as the project manager. The location, although documented (4b Les Fougères, Plainfaing), is considered to be of satisfactory a priori accuracy (level 6/10). The sawmill illustrates the importance of the wood industry in the Vosges at the end of the 19th century, where hydraulic energy played a central role in the mechanization of forest activities. Its history also reflects the challenges of preserving industrial heritage, often vulnerable to hazards and economic transformations.

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