Salernes : Saint-Barthélémy flourishing

In 1880, Eugène Léotard Lèbre, already the owner of a small isolated mill in Salernes, acquired two of the three flour mills in the village, called the "Moulin du Mousse" and the "Low Moulin", which he equipped with turbines and several machines. In 1928, his son Fernand Lèbre ended the exploitation of mills to undertake work aimed at modernizing the old grinding mill of the "lowest mill" and transforming it into an industrial flour mill. He raised the one floor building, strengthened its structure, built concrete silos on its northern facade and added a metal gateway connecting the flour store to the other side of the street. He called upon the company Teisset Rose Brault, specialist in milling equipment, to obtain a new turbine and complete equipment. With grinders and plansichters, two major innovations in the meuerie introduced in France in the last quarter of the 19th century and widespread before the Second World War, the Moulin de Saint-Barthélémy reopped in 1931. Its grinding capacity passed from 50 to 75 quintals per 24 hours, making it possible to increase its productivity and the quality of flour. The exploitation of the Saint-Barthélémy flour mill continued until 1955, and the right of milling was acquired in 1963 by the professional taxes of the Meunière industry, before the factory was disconnected from the canal a few years later. Remaining in good condition since its closure, the Saint-Barthélémy flour mill, with its machines spread over three levels, illustrates the complexity of the mechanized flour production in a medium-sized factory.