Family stories

Optimizing oak raw material is at the heart of the Charlois group’s commitments, which recycles 100% of its wood raw material, of which nearly 90% in-house.   As Jean-Louis Binder’s photographies from the 1960s and the Maison Charlois archives testify, this policy of recycling production by-products (coquerons, short off-cuts, shavings, sawdust, sw [...]

As mentioned in previous instalments of the series devoted to photographs taken by Jean-Louis Binder in Murlin in the 1950s and 1960s, Maison Charlois used to produce both split timber and sawn timber, including a large number of railway sleepers.   The market for railway sleepers was massive back then. To understand the size of […]

Thanks to Jean-Louis Binder’s photographs, we can provide a visual record of Maison Charlois’ activities in the 1950s and 1960s. At that time, the Charlois family already had in its DNA a desire to make the most of every raw material, shaping all parts of the oak tree, whatever their dimensions. The workshop produced both […]

Once received on the Murlin site, the logs were cut into sections. This step was carried out with a two-men chainsaw. This type of chainsaw became widespread in sawmills after the Second World War: one man was placed on the engine side and the second at the other end to guide the blade.   The […]

The Charlois family has always enjoyed a close relationship with the Bertranges forest and its century-old oak trees. It was therefore only natural for the Charlois family to have sourced, for several centuries, high-quality oak staves from this exceptional forest that is now managed by the ONF (National Forest Office). These photographs taken by J [...]

We are often contacted by people in possession of photographs, texts, tools and other elements relating to the Charlois group’s activities. Jean-Louis Binder, a keen photographer and friend of the Charlois family, recently sent us photographs from a period when he could regularly be found in Murlin between the early 1950s and the late 1960s. […]

Eugène Charlois, ninth generation, was born in Chaulgnes on January 11, 1900, under the Third Republic, then presided over by Émile Loubet   Descendant of a line of splitters (fendeurs) from the Nivernais region, whose origins date back to the 17th century, it was only natural that Eugène turned to the trade of his ancestors. […]

Son of Jean Charlois and Jeanne Moutet, Antoine, eighth generation, was born in Chaulgnes on April 1st , 1849 during the Second Republic (1848-1852) presided by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, the future Emperor Napoléon III.   Antoine Charlois, wood splitter, married Marie Dollet, also from Chaulgnes, in 1873. They had 11 children, including 7 daughters [...]

Jean Charlois, seventh generation, was born in Chaulgnes on August 21, 1807. He is the son of Jeanne Lithier (widow of Jean Charlois, 1782-1805, prematurely deceased) and Louis Charlois (brother of Jean Charlois, 1782-1805). First Empire was in full expansion at the time after the victories of Eylau (8 February 1807) and Friedland (14 June […]

Son of Claude Charlois and Jeanne Chavance, Jean, sixth generation, was born in Chaulgnes on 10 October 1782 under the reign of Louis XVI. The Kingdom of France was at that time in an major economic and financial crisis due in part to the support France has given to the rebels of the British colonies […]

Son of Louis Charlois and Reine Blondelet, Claude, fifth generation, was born in Chaulgnes on 12 March 1748 during the reign of Louis XV. During this period, the life of the commune was still largely dominated by viticulture. As a matter of fact, more than 55% of the acts of civil status registered in 1748 […]

Son of Jacques Charlois and Antoinette Gauthier, Louis was born in Chaulgnes on 12 February 1721 during the Regency (1715-1723), period in which Philippe d’Orléans exercised power on behalf of Louis XV, too young to rule the kingdom.   At that time, local history reveals that the Bertranges forest was under pressure from forest users. […]