Long ago on the slopes of Domont a village nestled. Domont was then just a small place. It belonged to Lord Landri. Three stories explain Domont’s name. One is “Dos du Mont” meaning “back of the mountain”. Another is “Dal Mund” meaning “valley door”. The last is “Dool Monte” meaning “sacred stone mountain”.
In 1098 a pivotal moment arrived. Lord Landri gifted Domont to Cluny Benedictine monks. They cleared land. They built a priory. A woodcutter village grew around it. Domont entered history.
For centuries Domont remained agricultural. Its hillsides were vineyards. The fertile Plaine de France provided Paris with grain. The first two centuries thrived. The next were hard. Wars and plagues struck.
The Villiers knights became Domont’s lords. Jean de Villiers fought in the Fourth Crusade. Pierre de Villiers served under Du Guesclin. He founded the Villiers Adam family.
The Champluisant and Gallarbois families ruled later. They expanded Domont’s parish. Domont’s northern exposure and forest protected it from plagues and wars.
Composer Michel Pignolet de Monteclair died in Domont in 1737. Grapevines yielded to fruit trees. Madame de Sévigné praised Montmorency cherries. Madame de la Massais owned Domont. Her Parisian salon welcomed philosophers. Madame de Genlis visited. Jussieu’s students studied nearby plants.
Domontois wrote their grievances before the Revolution. They complained about game damage and taxes. Jean-Pierre Decorde became their first mayor. A radical priest wanted to turn the church into a Temple of Reason. Domontois resisted. They restored the church. Girondin outlaws hid in the forest. La Réveillière-Lépeaux even led France. David d’Angers settled in Domont.
By 1850 Domont had 936 people. Herbalists explored its flora. Men worked as woodcutters. Women embroidered. “Trimardeurs” grew vegetables. The 1870 war saw German Uhlans occupy Domont. Paris’ siege made Domont a camp. The occupation lasted a year.
Peace brought a new fort. It was first class. It used Champeaux stones. Officers Delanne and Joffre oversaw its construction. In 1878 the fort’s turret guarded Paris. Its cannons later fired on German troops.
The railway boosted Domont’s economy. Domont brickmaking began in 1895. The 1900 World’s Fair helped. Pear farmers exported to England. Moutardier was the last to use a flail for threshing grain.
Before 1914 Domont was a resort. Châteaux villas and parks surrounded the church. Baron Brincard and General Delanne lived there. Domont avoided the war’s worst impact. But its people fought and died. Marshal Joffre memorialized them. Eugène Houdry invented catalytic cracking. Domont grew. It became a town.
World War II brought occupation. Domontois were sent to concentration camps. Robert Meunier died resisting. American tanks freed Domont on August 30 1944.
Post-war growth transformed Domont. In 1960 it had 5000 people. In 1975 11000. It became a dynamic town. Domontois kept their quality of life. This is Domont’s story a place where history and nature meet.