Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Chalosse Museum is located in the Carcher estate, acquired in 1981 by a local joint union. This estate, owned in 1670 by Jean de Planter (Royal Judge of Montfort), illustrates 19th century rural life with its furnished master house, wine cellar, and agricultural outbuildings. The project was born in the 1970s thanks to exhibitions organized by local teachers, peasants and cultural actors, such as "In the past around Dax" (1975) or "From vine to wine in Chalosse" (1979). These initiatives led to the creation of a museum dedicated to the Chalosian arts and traditions, opened in 1984.

The museum reconstructs a complete agricultural ecosystem: the master's house, with its staircase Louis XIII and its stencil decorations, contrasts with the house of the restored farmer in torchi, illustrating the system of metayage (aboli in 1946). The estate also includes a conservatory of 55 grape varieties, a cellar with an 18th-century Roman press still functional, and emblematic animals such as Chalosse's oxen (red label) or gascony sow, a race saved from extinction. These material and living elements bear witness to local know-how, from viticulture to livestock farming and breadmaking (always active supply).

The museum's collections became richer in the 1980s thanks to donations and deposits, such as the Sarrade legacy (150 objects in 1986) or works by the Despiau-Wlérick Museum (1987). The media library, specialized in rural ethnology, completes this conservatory with 3,000 works, sound and visual archives. The museum, labeled Musée de France, now belongs to the Communauté de Communes Terres de Chalosse. Its missions combine historical research, preservation of heritage (tools, costumes, furniture) and valorisation through demonstrations of know-how, such as annual harvests or bread cooking.

The chalosian landscape, bocager and rolling, differs from the forested Landes. Formerly dedicated to polyculture (wine, cereals, orchards), this territory is marked by a strong gastronomic tradition (fatty liver, Chalosse beef) and a social organization centered on metayage. The museum, by reconstructing this way of life, highlights the unique identity of the Chalosse in New Aquitaine, between wine heritage and agricultural innovations. Its immersive approach, with cultivated animals and gardens, makes it a living place of transmission of rural heritage.

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