Post 7. Chalet and Basin

This chalet is a fine example of the wooden house that was the subject of several postcards published at the time of Diablons and Durand Hotels.

The ground floor dates from 1817 and the first floor from 1853. The houses of farmers originally had only one floor.

The basin which has since disappeared, was located near this house to provide water for the people and their animals.

The basins were first made of wood and then out of stone. “This place was once paramount. Before the arrival of water taps, its use was strictly regulated. We came to get water with buckets and brought cows there twice a day in winter, while carefully avoiding that cows from different cowsheds could meet and fight.“ (Bernard Crettaz).

Women washed clothes in the basin, but also in the river until the 1950s. Before the advent of washing machines, sheets were boiled, mixed with soap or ash in a caster, and then rubbed on a board, at the basin.

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The next location is to the right of the street.