Prochain point : lat="49.14637" lon="1.977186"
Thomas’ Forge
A family business that has evolved over time
From blacksmiths...
In 1904 Maxime Thomas bought the assets of a blacksmith farriers on Boulevard Gambetta, and in 1909 he acquired the premises: Thomas’ Forge was born!
Farrier activities went on there, such as horse shoeing and general ironwork for agriculture or hooping the wheels manufactured by wheelwrights.
Work was disrupted by the Chars-Marines railway line, which cut through the property. The forge had to be demolished but the main house was spared and still stands on the corner of the boulevard. A new forge was immediately built on the other side of the boulevard, set back from the road; this is now the main building of the Maison des Associations.
... to agricultural machinery
Maxime Thomas passed his forge on to his son André Thomas in 1942. After World War II the nature of the business changed with the mechanization of agriculture. Thomas began selling and repairing tractors, combines, binders and threshers... and a large hangar was added to the main building.
Today, the Tourist Office has a small blacksmiths shop reconstituted with the equipment donated by the Thomas family.
