Housing Foundation 1667 (≈ 1667)
Created by Jean Yvert, Sieur de la Courtille.
1790
Processing into a distillery
Processing into a distillery 1790 (≈ 1790)
Becoming a *guildiverie* distinct from Bourceau.
1818
Inventory of slaves
Inventory of slaves 1818 (≈ 1818)
210 slaves listed on the site.
1971
End of activities
End of activities 1971 (≈ 1971)
Production definitely discontinued.
1993
Historical monument classification
Historical monument classification 1993 (≈ 1993)
Protection of all buildings.
2019
Restoration project
Restoration project 2019 (≈ 2019)
Opening planned as a tourist site.
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Heritage classified
All the buildings, namely: mill and its auget wheel covered in the pavilion of wood pits, including the old forge screws to the other side of the wheel; dressing with the location of the tank and its small circular chimney; Buildings of the cafe including the old scale, including the aqueduct from the water holding used as a diversion with the washhouse and latrines complex, buildings backed by the aqueduct in appentis (bonification and cassavary around a secondary water wheel), the drawer boucan for drying coffee, the walls of the old coral at the entrance, the paved roads and poncels on the water wires (Box BC 168): classification by order of 5 January 1993
Key figures
Jean Yvert, sieur de la Courtille - Founder
Created housing in 1667.
Frères Lostau - Owners (before 1750)
Cited by Father Labat in 1696.
Louis Marsolles - Owner (19th century)
Set up a thermal basin around 1818.
Origin and history
The dwelling La Lise, located in Bouillante on the island of Basse-Terre in Guadeloupe, is a former sugar farm founded in 1667 by Jean Yvert, Sieur de la Courtille. Installed on marshy grounds called lises, it is first fed by canals dug in the 18th century to capture the waters of the Lostau and Bourceau rivers. In 1696, Father Labat described it as property of the Lostau brothers, before it became a distillery (guildivery) in 1790, distinct from the Bourceau dwelling.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the dwelling employed 210 slaves (inventory of 1818) and was diversified under Louis Marsolles, which built a thermal basin fed by hot springs. The production extends to rum, coffee, vanilla and essential oils after 1945, with the addition of a mill and a quadrangular fireplace. The activity ceased in 1971, and the master house (1828), destroyed by fire in 1995, marked the end of its industrial use.
Classified as a historic monument in 1993 after its first registration in 1990, La Lise has been the subject of restoration projects since 2019 to make it a tourist heritage site. The preserved buildings (moulin, aqueduct, vinegar, coffee) illustrate the agricultural and industrial techniques of the French Antilles, linked to colonial history and slavery. However, the site remains closed pending renovation.
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