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 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 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.
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]
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.
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 granted the saltworks to the Abbey of Lure, 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 (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. 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, 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.
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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 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 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 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 by presidential decree on March 14, 1879.[18]
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]
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 via a sloped gallery, but mining activity was not resumed, unlike at the Gémonval and Vy-lès-Lure concessions, which were active from 1942 to 1944.[19]
At the beginning of the 21st century, the remains of three mine shafts from the Corcelles 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]
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]
| 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 |
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