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Origin and history

The estate of Mare à Citrons, located in the circus of Salazie in La Réunion, derives its name from a perennial pond of 14 acres that gave its identity to the dwelling and then to the neighbouring hamlet. Its history began in the early 19th century, when the colonization of circuses, banned under the Ancien Régime, was authorized after 1810 under English occupation. The first settlers, including Theodore Cazeau, settled near the Mare at Poules d'Eau, despite the destruction caused by the cyclone of 1829. A collective petition in 1830, led by Nicole Robinet de La Serve and ten other inhabitants-sucriers, requested permission to cultivate the land at the feet of the Salazes, marking the official beginning of the permanent occupation of the circus.

Land concessions were complex due to land disputes, including the Clain heirs' case related to an act of 1725. A colonial decree of 1839 finally granted 36 sites in full ownership, including that of Théodore Cazeau, but also of Edouard Perrichon and Adrien Pignolet. The latter, Edouard Perrichon, built a 400 m2 model silkworm-breeding magnatery, which flourished until the conquest of Indochina. The high quality Réunion silk gradually disappeared, but traces remain like the path of La Filature and the walls still visible today.

In 1854, Edouard Perrichon sold the estate to Count Bertin of Avesnes, who died there in 1842 after having taken refuge in the Hauts to escape the heat. In the 20th century, René Peel Payet, a miller and planter, acquired the property in 1934. He transformed it into a resort for his workers and into a food farm, before developing the industrial cultivation of sugar cane in the 1950s. When he died in 1982, the estate ceased its sugar business, marking the end of an intense agricultural era.

The estate, which was listed in the 1996 Inventory of Historic Monuments, today bears witness to the economic and social history of Réunion: colonization of circuses, breeding of silkworm, and transition to modern agriculture. Its architecture, including the master house and outbuildings, as well as its park, reflect the adaptations of the settlers to the geographical and climatic constraints of the Hauts.

Historical sources, such as notarial acts or colonial decrees, reveal land tensions and land development strategies. The estate remains a symbol of the resilience of the pioneers, but also of the economic changes of the island, moving from silk to sugar cane, before becoming a preserved heritage. Its inscription in 1996 underlines its importance in the history of Réunion, between agricultural memory and architectural heritage.

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