Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Luxey softwoods workshop was founded in 1859 by Louis and Jacques Vidal in the Landes de Gascogne, an area marked by logging. Located near a pine forest and a creek, this industrial complex consisted of three buildings: a gem reception site, a distillation plant producing turpentine gasoline and colophan, and a warehouse for finished products. Labour housing complemented the estate, reflecting an autonomous organization around this major economic activity.

As soon as it opened, the factory employed 200 gemmers and distilled up to 500,000 litres of annual resinous material, exported via Bordeaux to France and abroad. The production was based on an artisanal process: the gem, harvested by farmers, was transported by carts and boats and then distilled in copper stills. This system, which flourished until the 1920s — the so-called golden tree period — declined in the 1930s before finally ceased in 1954, the victim of the economic crisis.

In 1975, the workshop was integrated into the Grande Lande ecomuseum after its acquisition by the Regional Natural Park of the Landes de Gascogne. The three buildings, classified as Historic Monuments in 1990, were converted into museums to preserve this industrial heritage. Today, the site hosts 20,000 annual visitors and illustrates gemmage techniques, as well as their impact on everyday products such as varnishes and plastics. Despite the theft of copper parts in 2005-2006, a restoration carried out in 2017 allowed the infrastructure to be modernized while maintaining its authenticity.

The Vidal workshop thus bears witness to the golden age of Dutch resin, between technical innovation and industrial decline, before becoming a symbol of local memory. Its museum model is inspired by that of the Marquèze ecomuseum, opened in 1970 by the same Greater Lander society, stressing the importance of this heritage in regional identity.

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