Visit of the Ainoz Mill

The Ainoz watermill, which bears the name of the family that has owned it since 1750, sits on a piece of land called Nant du Moulin, natural border between the two villages of Crest-Voland and Cohennoz.
The miller was an important person in any village: it is he who received everyone’s grain harvest to mill it into flour, which was then used to make bread, a basic daily food.
Originally the mill was equipped with an impeller which used the stream water to power three grind stones: one for barley, one for oats and one for wheat.
In the 1930s, the miller’s business declined: the three Ainoz brothers decided to diversify their business and installed wood lathes.
The impeller was replaced by a hydraulic turbine. Another turbine was installed to work the lathes.
The little Ainoz factory made all sorts of wooden handles for hand-tools, saucepans, knobs etc. But also dolls’ legs for the famous shop, La Samaritaine, in Paris!
The business flourished and production was intense (300 handles per hour).
But the arrival of plastic soon brought an end to the business.
The mill finally closed its doors in 1963, sealing all its treasures inside.
The mill’s inheritors have done an amazing amount of restoration work to open the site to the public and by doing so, have given life back to this historical building.