The history of the Solaure en Diois mill
The first written record we have found concerning the mill is a handwritten document dating from 1540.
Gaspard de Montauban, lord and baron of Montmaur and Aix-en-Diois*, declared to the King the fief of the mill and the Pont de Quart toll, which listed the income and expenses of these two Activities.(1)
* Former name of the municipality, recently merged to Solaure en Diois.
manuscrit 1540
(1) Extract from a fief declaration from 1540. (communal archives of Aix en Diois)
(1) Outline of transcription of the 1540 manuscript
As early as the Gallo-Roman era, a Roman road ran along the right bank of the Drôme. The tradition of naming places based on the distance from the town of Die gave rise to “Quart,” meaning four Roman miles, or six of our kilometers.
Later, the royal road from Valence to Gap crossed the Drôme on this bridge.
The cut stone piers and revetments, still visible today at the foot of the mill, supported a wooden deck.
Due to severe deforestation of the surrounding mountains, the wooden deck was regularly washed away by the torrential floods that were very frequent at the time. The royal services often had to finance major repair work.(2)
(2) Cross-section of the middle arch. Watercolor from 1774 attached to one of the estimates sent to the king for the repair of the bridge. (departmental archives)
Estimates and reasons for the repair of the Quart bridge. (Extract) (departmental archives)
Upstream, an island over 2.5 km long, now gone, separated two branches of the Drôme, creating a small natural waterfall. The mill was built there to harness this precious energy.(3)
Over time, a canal replaced the upper branch. Dug into the ground, it measured up to 2 m wide and between 1,000 and 1,800 m long, depending on the configuration of the confluence of the Bèz and the Drôme. When the mill was idle, the water allowed the surrounding land to be irrigated. It is now dry but still visible.(4)
(3) Quart Bridge (and part of the island) on the road from Valence to Gap. Extract from Trudaine’s maps 1745-1780. (National Library)
(4) The mill canal (Napoleonic land register 1823)
Before the mid-19th century, the old bridge was abandoned, replaced by the current bridge built a little downstream.
Floods are less violent today thanks to a proactive policy that planted hundreds of thousands of trees and improved the slope of the torrents (Mountain Land Restoration Laws of 1860-1882).
At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the old wheels were replaced by one of the first but most powerful hydraulic turbines (Francis). The mechanical force of the water drove a multitude of leather belts and the mill’s various machinery.
An alternator was later added to provide some lighting and even electric heating in the house.(5)
The mill finally ceased its production of flour and walnut oil only in 1968.(6)
(5) Photo of the Moulin du Pont de Quart, shortly before its enlargement (Photo 1912, Faure family archives)
(6) The mill, from the 1970s to the 2010s. (Faure family archives)
For our return to Drôme in 2012, we settled here.
Five years of intense renovation work followed, into which we poured all our love.
They were destroyed by a devastating fire.(7)
(7) The 2017 fire
Welcome to the Solaure Mill
With this new major renovation, the “Moulin de Quart” became the “Moulin de Solaure” in 2019.
This place has retained the strength and charm it has acquired over the centuries.
It is now the ideal place to recharge your batteries and spend a peaceful stay near the water in complete serenity.
