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Coal mines and saltworks of Saulnot

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Coal mines and saltworks of Saulnot
Founded12th century
Defunct1826 (salt)
1922 (coal)
Headquarters
Saulnot
,
France
Production output
Bituminous coal, halite

The coal mines and saltworks of Saulnot are coal and rock salt mines located in the Keuperian basin in the Haute-Saône department, in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France. They were operated in the territories of the communes of Saulnot and Corcelles [fr] from 1589 to 1921 for coal, and from the 12th century to 1826 for salt (a total of seven centuries). Using locally mined coal to evaporate brine in furnaces designed by Heinrich Schickhardt [fr] allowed the company to reduce salt production costs.

At the beginning of the 21st century, there is no trace left of the saltworks, but a square in honor of Heinrich Schickhardt and the salt industry has been laid out in the center of the village of Saulnot. Slag heaps and mine shafts remain in Corcelles.

Location

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The coal concession covers an area of 1,485 hectares, spanning the communes of Saulnot, Corcelles, Villers-sur-Saulnot, Échavanne, Crevans-et-la-Chapelle-lès-Granges, and Granges-le-Bourg, in the southeast of the Haute-Saône department, in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region.[1]

Geology

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The coal and halite deposits are part of the Keuperian coal basin of Haute-Saône. This basin consists of alternating layers of sandstone, variegated marl, and dolomitic gypsum.

Saltworks

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Example of drainage of brine.

Salt production in Saulnot steadily increased along with wood consumption from 1147 onward. At the time, brine was evaporated using wood-fired furnaces to extract halite, which led to the depletion of nearby forests and prompted coal mining from the 16th to the 20th century.[2] This was one of the first sites in Europe to experiment with coal as a fuel for evaporation.[3] The saltworks were supplied by two sources: the large well (located in the village), which fed six boilers, and the small well, which fed three boilers.[4]

In the 13th century, Thierry III [fr] granted the saltworks to the Abbey of Lure [fr], which derived significant revenue from salt sales. However, the abbey lost ownership after Thierry’s death around 1282.[5] The profits from salt extraction were then divided between the Counts of Montbéliard and various investors before becoming the exclusive property of the latter in 1367 to compete with the Jura saltworks [fr] (owned by the Counts of Burgundy) and to supply neighboring seigneuries in Franche-Comté and Alsace. Graduation and preheating techniques were introduced from the 16th to the 17th century in Germany and the Principality of Montbéliard to save energy, spreading throughout Franche-Comté in the 18th century. In 1424, the large well was abandoned due to fresh water infiltration. In 1550, the saltworks were rebuilt after the 1474 attack by Charles the Bold during the Burgundian Wars. They were partially destroyed again between 1587 and 1588 by Henry I of Guise. In 1592-1593, the new well allowed for increased production, supported by the exploitation of coal enabled by new boilers designed by Heinrich Schickhardt [fr]. The buildings were burned by the Comtois in 1639 and rebuilt between 1761 and 1766. In 1749, the site was monitored by seven or eight guard brigades managed by two offices that enforced the gabelle (salt tax) on behalf of the Ferme Générale, which banned salt sales in the seigneury of Granges.[4][6][7]

The saltworks declined steadily from 1750 to 1789.[2] On July 23, 1789, during the French Revolution, the buildings were looted and burned along with the archives by peasants from Granges.[4] The concession was taken over by the Compagnie des Salines de l'Est [fr], which permanently ceased operations in 1826. The buildings were purchased by the commune in 1846, twenty years after the brine wells were closed,[6] despite protests from the local population.[7] Before the closure, brine was extracted from two wells, each 15 meters deep, with 16.6 liters of this water yielding 6.6 kg of salt.[8] In 1862, the town hall was built on the former saltworks site.[6] At the beginning of the 21st century, no traces remain of the saltworks, but a square in honor of Heinrich Schickhardt and the salt industry has been established in the center of Saulnot.

A coal oven of the saltworks (illustration by Heinrich Schickhardt).
Heinrich Schickhardt.
The town hall of Saulnot is built on the site of the saltworks.
Square Heinrich-Schickhardt.
Overview of the square Heinrich-Schickhardt with explanatory panels.

Coal mines

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History

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The discovery of coal in the Keuperian basin dates back to the late 16th century. At that time, the Saulnot saltworks (in the seigneury of Granges) used two boilers to evaporate brine—one powered by coal and the other by wood. The miners who extracted coal from the hills were paid in cash and candles.[2]

In 1589, coal was discovered in Corcelles [fr] and mining began to reduce the saltworks' wood consumption.[9] By 1594, nineteen miners were working at the Assemont coal mines.[10] However, the coal was of poor quality, producing thick smoke and a bad smell. Accidents already occurred: suffocation from bad air at the Assemont mines in 1615, and the asphyxiation of young workers at the Saulnot mines in 1616. After a period of activity from 1610 to 1628, extraction slowed and ceased in 1635, before resuming in 1654.[2][11]

In 1714–1715, a new seam was discovered in Saulnot, and a test report was issued for using this fuel to evaporate salt, drawn up by experts from Montbéliard. At the time, workers did not have safety regulations, and the mining operation was poorly organized. It was not until the 1744 ordinance that working conditions were officially regulated.[2] Activity resumed between 1768 and 1772.[9] On March 4, 1770, Jacques Liébiger obtained exclusive rights to extract coal throughout the seigneury of Granges. He was granted the Saulnot concession—2,400 toises in diameter (centered around the two main shafts)—for thirty years.[12]

October 4, 1826, the Corcelles concession, covering an area of 1,485 hectares, was granted to Messrs. Noblot Fils, Méquillet, and others [fr] by royal ordinance.[13] Samples taken around 1831 from works located 35 meters underground and 600 meters from the Corcelles church bell tower revealed hard coal. The coke derived from it appeared metallic, blistered, and porous.[14] A shaft was dug near the church of Saulnot [fr] in 1832.[15] That same year, the mine employed 25 workers.[16]

The mines closed in 1849.[17] Before that date, up to 1,000 tons of coal were extracted annually, particularly from a 36-meter-deep shaft. The mines were reopened, and the concession was later merged with others [fr] by presidential decree on March 14, 1879.[18]

A mine shaft in Saulnot.
Surface infrastructure of shaft D at the beginning of the 20th century.

At the beginning of the 20th century, mining activity was particularly intense north of Corcelles, with seven shafts dug between 1911 and 1921, of which five were recorded by the Bureau of Geological and Mining Research (BRGM):[19][20]

  • Shafts A and B, used before 1916, were for extracting hard coal, whose extraction was difficult.[21]
  • Shaft C was a prospecting shaft.[21]
  • Shafts D and E were the only ones active during World War I; the former was 33 meters deep and used for extraction, while the latter was used for ventilation. Both had large spoil heaps compared to other sites within the concession. The coal was transported via the vicinal railways of Haute-Saône [fr] to be used at the Gouhenans saltworks until extraction ceased in 1921.[21]

In 1923, the representative of the Gouhenans Mining and Industrial Company, Mr. Gaillard, submitted a request to relinquish the concession. This relinquishment was officially decreed on February 17, 1925.[22]

To cope with shortages caused by the Occupation, new prospecting was launched in several small coal basins that escaped the occupier’s quotas.[23] In 1941, a report by Mr. Foresin concluded that around 8,000 tons of coal could still be extracted at Corcelles [fr] via a sloped gallery, but mining activity was not resumed, unlike at the Gémonval and Vy-lès-Lure concessions [fr], which were active from 1942 to 1944.[19]

Remains

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At the beginning of the 21st century, the remains of three mine shafts from the Corcelles [fr] coal mines, visible on IGN maps, still exist near the Rhin-Rhône high-speed rail line, along with their spoil heaps. In December 2012, Shaft E was open to a depth of 10.5 meters; it had a regular rectangular section, measuring two meters by three meters. Cavers from Héricourt visited the site on January 4, 2013, and found that the bottom of the shaft was unstable. As a result, the municipality secured the area, but it was not filled in, as the bottom of the shaft was not reached.[24][8]

  • The former D pit in Corcelles.
    The former D pit in Corcelles.
  • The slag heap of pit D.
    The slag heap of pit D.
  • View of pit F.
    View of pit F.
  • The slag heap of pit F.
    The slag heap of pit F.
  • The former open pit (E).
    The former open pit (E).
  • Bird's eye view (pit E).
    Bird's eye view (pit E).
  • Warning sign (pit E).
    Warning sign (pit E).
  • General view with the slag heap (pit E).
    General view with the slag heap (pit E).

Production

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In 1838, 600 tons of lean coal produced from the Corcelles and Gémonval concessions were consumed in the Doubs department.[25]

Between 1911 and 1921, 67,700 tons were extracted at Corcelles, with an average annual production of 6,100 tons.[20]

Evolution of coal mining in the Gémonval basin (including Saulnot and Gouhenans)[19]
1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921
Production (approximate) in thousands of tons 5.7 6.5 7.5 8.75 6 3.1 9.5 10.6 5.2 3.9 0.95

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Thirria 1869, pp. 184–185
  2. ^ a b c d e Paygnard 2010, pp. 16–17
  3. ^ Morin 2008, p. 480
  4. ^ a b c Coulon 2004, pp. 147–148
  5. ^ Besson, Louis (1846). Mémoire historique sur l'abbaye et la ville de Lure [Historical dissertation on the abbey and the town of Lure] (in French). Bintot. p. 70.
  6. ^ a b c Clerget, pp. 2–4
  7. ^ a b Debras 2013, p. 31
  8. ^ a b "Les puits de mine de Corcelles (Saulnot – 70)" [The Corcelles mine shafts (Saulnot – 70)] (PDF). ligue-speleo-fc (in French). 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 2, 2015.
  9. ^ a b Suchaux 1866, p. 175
  10. ^ Delsalle, Paul (2002). La Franche-Comté au temps des archiducs Albert et Isabelle: 1598-1633 [Franche-Comté in the time of Archduke Albert and Archduchess Isabella: 1598-1633] (in French). Presses Univ. Franche-Comté. p. 259.
  11. ^ Municipal document of Saulnot.
  12. ^ Grar, Édouard (1850). Histoire de la recherche : de la découverte et de l'exploitation de la houille dans le Hainaut français, dans la Flandre française et dans l'Artois, 1716-1791 [History of research: the discovery and exploitation of coal in French Hainaut, French Flanders and Artois, 1716-1791] (in French). Vol. 3. A. Prignet.
  13. ^ "Bulletin des lois de la République française, Volume 5 ;Volume 8 : Ordonnance du roi n°4446" [Bulletin of the laws of the French Republic, Volume 5; Volume 8: Royal Decree No. 4446] (in French).
  14. ^ Société d'agriculture, lettres, sciences et arts de la Haute-Saône 1831, pp. 349–350
  15. ^ Dormois & Ricours 1943, p. 7
  16. ^ Koch-Mathian 2001, pp. 27–28
  17. ^ Thirria 1869, pp. 184–186
  18. ^ Benoit 1999, pp. 90 & 98
  19. ^ a b c Dormois & Ricours 1943, pp. 8–9
  20. ^ a b Trebuck 2013, p. 18
  21. ^ a b c "Inventaire des anciennes mines souterraines du département du Territoire de Belfort (90)" [Inventory of the former underground mines of the department of the Territoire de Belfort (90)] (PDF) (in French). 2000. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 19, 2024.
  22. ^ BRGM 1998, p. 7
  23. ^ Medioni, René (2013). Le BRGG (Bureau de Recherches géologiques et géophysiques, 1941-1953), premier ancêtre direct du BRGM [The BRGG (Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Géophysiques, 1941-1953), the first direct ancestor of the BRGM] (in French). pp. 105–106.
  24. ^ "L'ancienne houillère fait naître de dangereux gouffres" [The old colliery is giving rise to dangerous sinkholes]. Le Pays (in French). Archived from the original on February 20, 2013.
  25. ^ Laurens 1841, p. 131

Bibliography

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