Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Epernon Basin Mills and Cobbles Conservatory, established in 2005, is dedicated to preserving the memory of the region's hauliers and millers. Initiated by the association Épernon Heritage and surroundings, it is installed in an old stable, stable and sheepfold of the 19th century, supplemented by a rotunda in slate from the Universal Exhibition of 1900. This building, donated by Mrs Kelsen Plassard, once served as a model farm for the Paris department store Le Bon Marché.

The Epernon region was a major centre for sandstone and millstone extraction, employing up to 1,200 workers in difficult conditions. The quarries, exhausted before the arrival of the mechanization, provided the stones for the Maintenon aqueduct, a project linked to Vauban and the diversion of the waters of the Eure to feed the gardens of Versailles. The stones were transported by barge via the Drouette, a channeled tributary.

Today, the museum exhibits tools, documents and machines related to this activity, and offers temporary educational exhibitions. Labelled Tourism and Handicaps, it is open from May to September and serves as a welcome point for cyclists on the routes Paris-Le Mont-Saint-Michel and Paris-Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle. The Conservatory also makes its archives available to researchers upon request.

The site highlights the local geological and industrial heritage, with bibliographical references such as Jean Paul Duc's work on carriages and millers. Some of the collections also refer to the manufacture of grinding wheels, as evidenced by an international publication (Bread for the People, 2011) citing Duke's research.

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