Construction begins 1856 (≈ 1856)
Workshops, forge and employer housing built.
1859
Energy commissioning
Energy commissioning 1859 (≈ 1859)
Steam machine and turbines installed.
1860
Gas plant
Gas plant 1860 (≈ 1860)
New energy source added.
1902
Electricity
Electricity 1902 (≈ 1902)
Power plant built on site.
1912
New employer housing
New employer housing 1912 (≈ 1912)
Building overlooking the built factory.
19 mai 2003
Historical monument classification
Historical monument classification 19 mai 2003 (≈ 2003)
Official registration of the factory.
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Heritage classified
The entire factory, comprising the workshop with its metal tarpaulins, hydraulic wheels, martinets and ovens, the Gessant house, the Hollwarth house and the circle, the Massenet house, the pond, the transformer and the workers' gardens (Box AL 101 to 111): inscription by order of 19 May 2003
Key figures
F. Dorian - Industrial and co-founder
Initiator of the factory extension.
J. Holzer - Associate of F. Dorian
Co-founder of the industrial project.
A. Leroux - Architect and engineer
Building designer in 1857-1859.
Origin and history
The Alliance's false Dorian factory, located in Pont-Salomon, Haute-Loire, is an industrial factory founded in the 2nd quarter of the 19th century. It was the principal establishment of the commune, dedicated to the production of fakes, sickles, and incidentally of war material (1914, 1939), radiators ( 1960s), then secateurs and agricultural tools. Its construction began in 1856, with workshops, a forge, offices and a dwelling, designed by architect A. Leroux. The hydraulic installations, originally planned for a stationery, were reused for the factory.
Energy came from a steam engine (1859), three turbines, a gas plant (1860), and electricity (1902). The factory employed 208 workers in 1877, but only 20 in 1998. Some buildings, such as dip (1908) or forge (1909), were rebuilt. The patronal housing, dominant the site, dates from 1912. The architecture combines brick and granite, with typical square chimneys. Ranked a historical monument in 2003, it illustrates 19th century industrialisation in Auvergne.
Productions evolved with the needs: traditional agricultural tools, then adaptations for world wars and modernization (gradators, secateurs). Energy sources reflect this technological adaptation from hydraulics to gas and then electricity. Despite the decline in employment, the site remains a major testimony of the French industrial heritage, associated with the Dorian family, pioneer in local metallurgy.
Today, the factory retains remarkable elements such as hydraulic wheels (unused), brick and granite workshops, and square chimneys. Its inscription in historical monuments protects all buildings, equipment and interior fittings. The site, a private property, embodies both the technical heritage and the social history of Pont-Salomon, linked to the rise and decline of the regional metallurgical industry.
