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Origin and history

The Chappe de Sainte-Foy-lès-Lyon telegraph tower was built in 1821 as part of the extension of the optical telegraphic network during the reign of Louis XVIII. It connected Lyon, where the line stopped, to the military port of Toulon. On 29 August 1821 an agreement was signed between the mayor of Sainte-Foy-lès-Lyon, Rambaud Brosse, the administrator of the telegraphs Abraham Chappe, and Pierre Nesme, owner of the land adjacent to the chapel Sainte-Marguerite. The station, located between those of Saint-Just (Lyon) and d-Irigny, operated as an optical relay before being rendered obsolete by the electric telegraph in 1852.

In 1854, after its decommissioning, the tower's equipment was sold at auction and the land returned to its original owners. The tower, transformed into a home for a guardian, was then abandoned. It was saved in the 1980s thanks to the action of the Association for the Restoration of the Tower of the Telegraph Chappe, founded to counter a parking project on the site. Classified as an additional inventory of historic monuments on 22 September 1987, it was restored from 1990.

To celebrate the bicentenary of the first Chappe telegraphic line in 1993-94, the Conservatoire national des arts et métiers (CNAM) in Lyon rebuilt a replica of the original mechanism, exhibited in the tower after several travelling exhibitions. Today, the monument houses a small museum run by a local association, offering monthly visits. The ground floor reconstructs a typical 20th century stationary housing, reflecting the evolution of communication techniques.

The tower, owned by the commune of Sainte-Foy-lès-Lyon, is located on the 2nd ascent of the Chapelle. Its mechanism and history make it a rare vestige of the beginnings of modern telecommunications in France, before the electric era. The building also symbolizes the adaptation of industrial heritage to contemporary cultural uses, thanks to community involvement and preservation policies.

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