Sentiers du Patrimoine ®
Montalet-le-Bois
Poursuivre jusqu’à Table de lecture du paysagey.
Prochain point : Coordonnées GPS : X : 49.046929 ; Y : 1.828971
The hamlet of Damply lies on the boundary between the communes of Montalet-le-Bois and Jambville and is bordered by the Bernon stream. The Napoleonic land registry shows that as early as the 19th century, buildings existed on both sides of the boundary between the two communes. The name Damply seems to have been established at that time; however, on the Intendance map of the 1780s it is registered as “Danly,” and as “Damty” on the Cassini map from the mid-18th century.
These maps also attest to a modest historical occupation, marked primarily by the large Damply farm, which dates back at least to the 18th century, and by the Prés Mill. Thus, in 1851 the hamlet had a total of 21 inhabitants, and 28 in 1872.
Although Damply remained a small hamlet, several important resources likely explain the settlement of its inhabitants. The Bernon stream powered the Prés Mill, whose existence dates back at least to 1787, when a register of seigneurial rights listed it as the property of the Lord of Lainville.
In addition, limestone quarries were exploited on the hillside, as evidenced by the present-day name Route de la Carrière (“Quarry Road”). In 1899, the schoolteacher of Jambville reported that the quarries were “partly open-air and partly underground galleries” and produced all types of stone (hard, semi-hard, and soft).Historical census records provide the names of several quarry workers living in Damply or in Montalet-le-Bois: Émile Grémillet in 1881; Dominique Patte and Ferdinand Monvoisin in 1886. These same documents reveal, however, that the majority of Damply’s inhabitants were farmers.
Notes from the census records • Victor Damesne: miller in 1872 • Pascal Bourgeois: miller and owner in 1851 and 1846 • Alphonse Laurent: miller in 1881 (became a farmer by 1901) • Denis Laurent: farmer and mayor • François Dreux: vine grower • Population figures: o 21 inhabitants in 1851 o 28 inhabitants in 1872 • 1921: Catherine Bezançon, jeweller, and her son Robert, jeweller • 1881: Prudent Reclain, press worker • 1881–1886: Émile Grémillet (1881), Dominique Patte (1886), Nicolas Grémillet (1886), Ferdinand Monvoisin (1886) • 1896: Émile Georges, quarry worker, in Damply • 1901: Jean Delâge, stonecutter From the Jambville census records: • 1891: Alexandre Fey, quarry worker • 1891: Dominique Guy, mason • 1891: Joseph Charat, stonecutter • 1896: Three families in Damply, including Dominique Guy, mason • 1906: Five families listed without professions
