La Forge Gendarme

On a little more than 13 ha, on the site of an old mill, Jean-Nicolas Gendarme built around 1824 an industrial complex which includes, according to an inventory of July 15, 1851:

>> a charcoal blast furnace;
>> a charcoal refinery hearth;
>> two coal puddler furnaces;
>> two stamps;
>> blowing machines and apparatus for drawing iron and calibrating cast iron objects;
>> a sawmill.

This complex is located on three ponds, two of which remain today, which are fed by the waters of the Vrigne and the Claire.
From 1876, the establishment was rented out: other Vignes industrialists settled there. The whole was bought from the Evain family in 1965 but the activity ceased completely in 1969.

In 1991, the facades of the building were included in the supplementary inventory of historic monuments. Today, the municipality of Vrigne-aux-Bois is considering rehabilitating the site.