Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Moulin Taron de Chaussin, certified in the 13th century as a wheat mill, is a major testimony of the milling and hydroelectric industry in Burgundy-Franche-Comté. Reconstructed in 1843 after a fire by the Marquise de Valdahon, he then incorporated a modern mill with a cast iron belfry, millstones and cylinder appliances. Its neoclassical architecture contrasts with its industrial functions, while its piped canal and turbines, some of which date back to the 1880s, highlight its adaptation to technical innovations.

Around 1902, the mill extends with a power plant supplying the village, followed by a sawmill built east before 1909. The latter, first operated by a turbine, moved to the impoverished gas engine after 1920, before stopping operations in 1948. The batteryhouse, built between 1829 and 1852, was converted into a barn before 1920, reflecting the evolution of agricultural needs. The site, purchased by Louis Taron in 1937, maintained flour production until 1962, while modernizing its equipment, such as the addition of a Russon diesel engine in the 1950s.

The mill retains an exceptional technical heritage: two turbines (including one inactive), a 1950 Russon engine, two pairs of grinding wheels, and Bühler or Daverio cylinders. His industrial history is also read through his changes of owners, such as the Darnaud family (from 1874) or Émile Robert (1920), which expanded the sawmill. Ranked as a Historic Monument in 1997, the site also includes the pipeline, the spillway, and stables, demonstrating its central role in local economic life.

The production of wads (roasted corn flour), a traditional activity maintained until recently, and the preservation of machines such as Lacroix grinders (replaced around 1965) or the Lister engine (1932), make the Moulin Taron a rare example of a preserved vertical production chain. Its gradual decline, marked by the shutdown of sawmills in 1948 and bread-making flour in 1962, is part of the broader context of agricultural mechanization and energy centralization, with the sale of the electrical sector to the Forces motores de la Loue around 1942.

Today, the mill, located at 12 Rue Simone Michel Levy in Chaussin (Jura), offers a unique overview of the technological transitions from the 19th to the 20th century. Its listing in the Inventory of Historic Monuments protects not only its buildings (milling, barn, stables), but also its hydraulic and mechanical installations, making this site a key place to understand rural industrial history in Franche-Comté.

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