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Origin and history

The Le Havre tobacco factory was founded in 1724 by the Compagnie des Indes, which first used an old palm game as a temporary workshop. From 1726 a new factory was built according to the plans of the engineers Jacques Martinet and Gabriel, forming a quadrilateral around a central courtyard. This complex housed shops, offices and workshops, supplied with water by an aqueduct connected to the Saint-François fountain. A second building, erected from 1728 onwards, featured a gate decorated with Indian Company weapons and commercial symbols.

In 1745 and 1765, the factory expanded with the construction of a department store and a third building. After its closure in 1791, it was bought by private individuals before returning to the state in 1811 under the Régie des contributions indirects. In the 19th century, it modernized with the installation of steam machines (1830, 1857) and annexation of a nearby warehouse (1856). Destroyed during the 1944 bombings, only its monumental stone gate of Caen and Caumont subsista, classified as a historical monument in 1946.

The remaining remains were finally demolished in 1960, leaving only the door, now preserved. This site illustrates the economic importance of Le Havre in French colonial trade in the 18th and 19th centuries, as well as the industrial transformations of tobacco production. The factory also embodied royal and commercial power, as evidenced by its architectural decorations and its functional organization.

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