Dompierre-aux-Bois
Encyclopedia
Dompierre-aux-Bois is a commune
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...

 in the Meuse
Meuse
Meuse is a department in northeast France, named after the River Meuse.-History:Meuse is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...

 department in Lorraine
Lorraine (région)
Lorraine is one of the 27 régions of France. The administrative region has two cities of equal importance, Metz and Nancy. Metz is considered to be the official capital since that is where the regional parliament is situated...

 in north-eastern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. Dompierre-aux-Bois belongs to the association of the villages called "Dompierre" in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 (22 villages). The inhabitants meet every year during the month of July.

Setting

The village is located in a valley
Valley
In geology, a valley or dale is a depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge.The terms U-shaped and V-shaped are descriptive terms of geography to characterize the form of valleys...

, in a wooded area. The territory of the village is of 806 hectares. In the middle of the village, there is stream that was called "Ru du Moulin" in 1972. Now, it is simply called "Ruisseau de Dompierre". This stream's source is in the building where people would come in the past to wash their laundry. This building was initially built in 1821 and rebuilt in 1925. Since 1980, the spring is used to supply water to several neighbouring villages. As a result, the stream is now thinner, and during droughts, it's almost dry.

Population

1836: 385 persons
1911: 198 persons
2005: 60 persons, of which 20 are under 20 years of age.

Resources

In the 19th century, Dompierre-aux-Bois was essentially living of wood production. It was called the Meuse
Meuse
Meuse is a department in northeast France, named after the River Meuse.-History:Meuse is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...

 department's capital of the clog
Clog (shoe)
A clog is a type of footwear made in part or completely from wood.The Oxford English Dictionary defines a clog as a "thick piece of wood", and later as a "wooden soled overshoe" and a "shoe with a thick wooden sole"....

, with a production of 45,000 units per year. There was also a sawmill and a papermill. Embroidery
Embroidery
Embroidery is the art or handicraft of decorating fabric or other materials with needle and thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as metal strips, pearls, beads, quills, and sequins....

 was also an important activity with about 60 women working in this activity. Today, most residents of Dompierre live of agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

.

History

Dompierre-aux-Bois was badly hit during the First World War. On 27 September 1914, 24 women, children and elderly who had stayed back in the church of the village were killed. The village was entirely destroyed during the war and its French population displaced as it was in a German controlled area.

See also

  • Communes of the Meuse department
  • Parc naturel régional de Lorraine
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