Timeline

Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The mill of Pertuizet is a flour mill located on horseback in the communes of Coligny and Villemotier, in the department of Ain, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Built in 1796 by Claude and Denis Pertuizet, it operated thanks to the hydraulic energy of Solnan, a river marking the border between the two communes. This stream not only fed the mill mechanism, but also posed challenges, such as the risk of flooding the surrounding fields.

In 1858, major improvements were made, including the addition of a barn and the creation of a landfill canal to limit flooding. These changes reflect the mill's constant adaptation to agricultural needs and natural constraints. At the beginning of the 20th century, the site was modernized with the installation of a turbine in 1922, followed by a horizontal Francis turbine and an engine in 1946, illustrating the technological evolution of the mills at that time.

The Pertuizet mill ceased operations in 1970 after more than 170 years of operation. It was equipped with two gallows to lift the grinding wheels, as well as three separate grinding wheels: one for food flour and two for animal flour. The flour produced was stored in chests on the ground floor. Ranked a historic monument in 2005, the mill is today a preserved testimony to the industrial and agricultural history of the region.

The site includes, in addition to the mill itself, its mechanisms, machinery and grinding wheels, as well as its barn, its discharge canal and the entire hydraulic system. These elements, protected in their entirety, offer a complete vision of the architecture and operation of a traditional mill. The property, always private, thus retains a rare technical and cultural heritage, linked to the exploitation of renewable energies and rural life in Bresse.

The location of the mill, at the edge of the municipalities of Coligny and Villemotier, underlines its central role in the local economy. The Solnan, in addition to feeding the mill, structured the agricultural and craft activities of the region. The 2005 classification of historical monuments helped preserve this site, which illustrates both the ingenuity of ancient techniques and their adaptation to industrial progress.

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