Welcome to the Ecomusée du Carton in Mesnay, close to Arbois, located in a valley shaped by paper and cardboard-making history for three centuries. By the end of the 19th century, it had become exclusively concerned with the manufacture of cardboard, thanks to the know-how and business acumen of a young man named Jean-Baptiste Hétier. His first headquarters was in the Bise paper mill, just 2km up from Mesnay, where the main factory would soon be established.

In 1888, he developed the firm Hétier Père et Fils, after taking over, one by one, all the small paper mills around the Cuisance river.

This firm has ceased to exist: the different branches of the factory were sold between 1960 and 1980. The last to be sold was the Mesnay factory, in 1983. However, visiting  this last remaining factory is still possible, due to the fact that cardboard production continued here until November 2001.

At present, the museum conserves a cardboard-manufacture workshop featuring a number of machines that are still in working order. This machinery was used for defibering, refining and, ultimately, producing cardboard plaques.

Water always was, and still remains, the main source of energy and it runs through the factory by means of a by-channel of the Cuisance river.

A series of water mills were developed around this river, namely flour mills, oil mills, forges, farms and edge-tool makers. Some of these mills would produce paper and, eventually, cardboard.

Original lab models of these machines (defibering-machine, refiner, roller...) will guide you through the different phases of cardboard manufacture.