How can a windmill work without sails?
© Vincent Leleu
For half a century, it was busy milling, sieving and sawing. We asked some older people to explain the mystery of this mill unlike any other.
In the Ecrins, there is a mill that works without sails and without a turbine. Perched on a hill in Saint-Martin-de-Queyrières, it has been overlooking the valley since 1915.
A visit to this lovely stone building, with its practically intact machinery, will reveal the secret. The mill stones, the bolter and the saws were operated by electric motors, powered by the hydroelectric plant in L'Argentière-la-Bessée.
"The municipality gave us electrical equipment in exchange for letting them install penstocks on our land. Electricity was pretty cheap at the time. We used the mill for flour as much as for wood", says Adrien Daurel, an elderly villager who was a municipal councillor for 48 years.
The mill was worked day and night until the middle of the 1960s. It is now regarded as one of the treasures of industrial heritage in Les Ecrins.
Contact us
Mairie de Saint Martin de Queyrières
La Serre
05120 Saint-Martin de Queyrières
(0033) (0)4 92 21 04 06
Information on group visits to the mill from the local town hall.
Website
See the access map
Topic : Art and cultural heritage
Published on : 2008/12/23
Tags : electric mill
