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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The windmill called En Carretou, located in Mascarville, Occitanie, is one of the oldest in the great southwest. Wearing the 1648 vintage on its turn, it is distinguished by its truncated structure in Roman bellows and bricks, typical of Lauragais. Built on a hillside, it was equipped with a door in the middle of the hanger and a bay to hoist the grain bags, with wooden wheels operating 1.70 m in diameter. This mill, coupled with a second one dated 1832, formed a complex including a miller's house and a small water mill, supplying the local population with wheat or corn flour until the end of the 19th century.

The mill En Carretou ceased its activity in 1963, after the death of its last miller, Hippolyte Cazeneuve. Its shingle roof and rudder were restored in 1983. Ranked Historic Monument by order of 27 January 1992, it bears witness to the technical ingenuity of the southwestern windmills and their central role in the rural economy. The site, although partially abandoned in the 20th century, retains traces of its original functioning, including its internal mechanisms and architecture adapted to local winds.

The mill illustrates the evolution of milling techniques between the 17th and 19th centuries, from artisanal production to semi-industrial activity. Its gradual abandonment in the twentieth century reflects the agricultural transformations and the disappearance of small local mills, replaced by more modern infrastructure. Today, it is an emblematic heritage of Mascarville, linked to the agrarian history of Occitanie and the legacy of traditional know-how.

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