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Origin and history

The Marion Mill, also known as the Courtelevant Mill, is a water mill powered by the Vendeline River, located in the municipality of Courtelevant, in the Territory of Belfort. Its origins date back to the seventeenth century, when it belonged to the lords of Florimont. After becoming a national during the French Revolution, it was acquired in 1805 by Jean-Pierre Marion, whose family still preserves it today. This mill, partially destroyed by a fire in 1855, was rebuilt the following year with a hydraulic wheel and modern bluteries, notable for its technical development.

Before 1855, the mill was already a place of farming, but its modernization in 1856 and its expansion in 1872 — with the addition of wheat cleaning machines and millstones for animal feed — reflected its adaptation to the industrial needs of the time. However, in the face of competition from regional mills in the 1880s, it ceased its commercial production of flour. Despite this, the site remained active until the beginning of the 20th century, with a dairy-butter mill running until 1935, operated by the Marion family.

The mill is listed as historic monuments in two stages: first the building and its mechanical installations in 1990, then its hydraulic network in 2006. Since 1988, the association "Les amis du Moulin de Courtelevant" has been working for its restoration and animation. Today, the mill functions again for educational and tourist purposes, offering visits and demonstrations of its original mechanism, including a hydraulic wheel of five meters in diameter and four production levels preserved intact.

Its architecture combines elements made of limestone, wood and mechanical tiles, typical of 19th century rural industrial buildings. The plumbing canal, several hundred meters long, illustrates the hydraulic ingenuity of the era, with a slope calculated to optimize the driving force of the water. The production chain, organised on four floors — from the transmission system on the ground floor to the bluters on the upper floors — bears witness to a methodical organization of milling work.

The seigneury of Florimont, on which Courtelevant initially depended, was ceded to France by Austria in 1648, placing the mill in a broader historical context, marked by the territorial and economic transformations of Franche-Comté. After its revolutionary nationalization, its sale to the Marion family in 1805 marked the beginning of an era of modernization, punctuated by technical innovations such as the installation of a Courteau mechanism in 1840.

Today, the Marion Mill is a rare example of a complete industrial heritage, preserved in its entirety thanks to voluntary efforts and legal protections. Its openness to the public and its gradual rehabilitation since the 1980s make it a place of living memory, where the technological and social history of milling is accessible to all.

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