Fifteen kilometers from Paris lies Villepinte. Route de Villepinte connects this town to the greater Parisian metropole. Its history is woven into the fabric of the region. Let’s explore that history.
Villepinte’s roots stretch back to the Neolithic era. Tools from this period were discovered along the Voie des Près. The Parisii tribe inhabited the area before the Roman conquest. Pottery shards from the Late Bronze Age confirm this early settlement. A well dating from the High Roman Empire provides further evidence of Gallo-Roman occupation.
By the 9th century Villa picta was listed as a possession of the powerful Abbey of Saint-Denis. King Robert II relinquished his rights to the area in 1008. Villepinte became a chatellenie a territory ruled by a chatelain. In this case the abbot of Saint-Denis held this power. A fortified dwelling built by the abbots existed by 1387. The abbots used it as a residence when visiting their Villepinte estate. However the Le Bouteiller family of Senlis held Villepinte’s seigneury from 1099 to the 13th century. They sold it to the abbey in 1281. The de Pomponne family also held a fief in Villepinte. They ceded it to the abbey in 1283.
The small village near the Ru du Sausset was initially part of the Saint-Médard parish in Tremblay. Villepinte’s population boom in the 13th century led to its own parish in 1279. The chateau chapel became the parish church Our Lady of the Assumption. The abbey of Saint-Denis appointed the parish priest.
During the Middle Ages Villepinte like neighboring parishes consisted of dozens of small seigneuries. Land consolidation occurred from the early 14th to the mid-16th centuries. Five wealthy bourgeois from Paris and Saint-Denis controlled most of the property. Dozens of peasants held small plots. The Abbey of Saint-Denis completed its Villepinte estate recovery in 1317. It granted some land as fiefs. By the 17th century the Bignon family owned most of Villepinte. Peasants worked the abbey’s land for rent. From the 16th century wealthy farmers consolidated power. The Afforty family was a prominent example. Some owned several farms.
On the eve of the Revolution Villepinte had a contrasting image. There was a wealthy agricultural area in the north. Large and small farmers coexisted alongside wealthy landowners. The south comprised forests for hunting rights. Wolves inhabited the woods. Hunts involved forest rangers and villagers.
Villepinte’s cahier de doléances detailed residents’ concerns. These included the accumulation of land by wealthy farmers hunting rights issues wolf control and heavy taxes. The Revolution transferred property through the sale of national assets. New owners were Parisian bourgeois or bankers. Some were former royal officials. The number of small and medium-sized owners increased. Wealthy farmers gained political influence. Pierre Afforty cultivated the chateau’s land. He was one of six farmers representing the Third Estate at the Estates-General.
In the 17th century the Bignon family used Villepinte as a country retreat. Jérôme Bignon purchased fiefs and houses from Jean de Flesselles’ heirs in 1652. This included the chateau. It was built around 1640 in the Louis XIII style. It had three buildings. After the Revolution it was called the Chateau de Villepinte or the “red chateau”. Armand-Jérôme Bignon sold the estate in 1790.
The estate with its 11-hectare park was acquired in 1881 by the Sisters of Saint Mary-Auxiliatrice. They established an “hospice” for young girls with consumption (pulmonary tuberculosis). Villepinte’s reputation for fresh air influenced this choice. The sanatorium expanded in 1886 with the “Pavilion des Tourelles”. A winter garden was added in 1888. A new building was constructed from 1890-1892. A bacteriology lab followed in 1896. The sanatorium was a leader in tuberculosis treatments. The chateau wing facing the park was demolished in 1907. A new pavilion replaced it.
World War I temporarily closed the sanatorium. It reopened in 1915 receiving support from the Rockefeller Foundation and the American Red Cross in 1918. In 1920 it expanded. The Saint-Louis pavilion opened in 1922. After World War II medical advances made the sanatorium less necessary. The Saint-Louis pavilion closed in 1971 and was demolished.
Route de Villepinte today is more than just a road. It is a living testament to Villepinte’s rich and layered past. It is a journey through time from Neolithic settlements to a modern town. A journey well worth taking.