Château Hériot - Essoyes

The oldest known owner of the castle was the last royal provost, Toussaint Darras , who died on December 26, 1826. At that time only the building on the right, known as "le Clos", existed. In 1890 the castle was purchased by Major Olympe Hériot.

The Herriot family, co-founders of the Grands Magasins du Louvre, expanded the building into a castle . The baptismal font has 2 stained glass windows commemorating the baptism of Auguste (1888) and Olympe (1889), the sons of the commander.

On December 30, 1929, Mr. Davidson, a Dallas, USA banker and former U.S. Army officer who had served in France during the previous war, purchased the property. He went bankrupt and in 1936 the castle was bought by the city. Over the years it housed an orphanage , a cantonment for French prisoners, the treasury, the municipal school and some residences.

Now (2022) the castle is empty, it is no longer heated and is in danger of falling into disrepair. The municipality held a vote to sell the castle but the majority of residents were against (2022)..

Willem Vandenameele