Aubenton

Aubenton
Jean Mermoz Museum and the Town Hall
Coat of arms
Aubenton
Location within Picardy region  Aubenton
Coordinates: 49°50′12″N 4°12′17″E / 49.8367°N 4.2047°ECoordinates: 49°50′12″N 4°12′17″E / 49.8367°N 4.2047°E
Country	France
Region	Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardie
Department	Aisne
Arrondissement	Vervins
Canton	Aubenton
Intercommunality	Pays des Trois-Rivières
Government
• Mayor (2013–2020)	Denise Charlier
Area^1	23.7 km^2 (9.2 sq mi)
Population (2012)^2	679
• Density	29/km^2 (74/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	02031 / 02500
Elevation	168–259 m (551–850 ft) (avg. 182 m or 597 ft)
^1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. ^2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Aubenton is a French commune in the department of Aisne in the Picardy region of northern France.

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Aubentonnais or Aubentonnaises^[1]

Geography

Aubenton derives its name from its location near the confluence (in the commune of Hannappes to the east) of the Aube (Thon) and the Thon.

The commune is located some 70 km east of Saint Quentin and 40 km west by north-west of Charleville-Mézières. The D1043 (E44) road from Hirson to Charleville-Mézières runs along the northern border of the commune. The village can be accessed from this road by the D5 road running south-east or the D37 road running south-west. The D5 road continues through the commune and south, changing to the D977, and continuing to Rozoy-sur-Serre. The D37 road continues west from the village to Besmont. There is also the D38 road from Leuze in the west passing through the village and continuing to Hannappes in the east. The railway from Hirson to Charleville-Mézières also passes through the commune following the course of the Thon river but there is no station in the commune – the nearest being at Liart to the east. The commune is about 80% farmland with the rest extensive forests in the south. There are a number of hamlets other than the village. These are:

• Bas Val La Caure
• Buirefontaine
• Haute Val la Caure
• Hurtebise
• La Rue Larcher
• Le Bois Carbonnet
• Ribeauville
• Saint-Nicholas

Entrance to the village

The Thon River flows from east to west through the north of the commune eventually joining the Oise river at Etreaupont. The Ruisseau de Bois Carbonnet rises in the south of the commune and flows west then north joining other tributaries then the Ton river.^[2]

Aubenton is surrounded by 7 communes: Brunehamel, Iviers, Beaumé, Leuze, Any-Martin-Rieux, Logny-lès-Aubenton, and Mont-Saint-Jean.^[3]

Neighbouring communes and villages^[2]

History

A drawing of the attack on the town walls by the Count of Hainaut

Second World War

The department of Aisne has 10 people designated "Righteous Among the Nations" (French people who helped Jews during the war), of whom 3 were from Aubenton:

• Emile Fontaine^[4] (a street bears his name)
• Annette Pierron, his girlfriend at the time
• Camille Pierron, mother of Annette and the owner of a farm at Buirefontaine

Shot by the Gestapo on the Aubenton-Besmont road (D37) on 30 March 1944, Emile Fontaine was recognized as a captain in the French Forces of the Interior (FFI) after the Liberation. All three had saved 10 escapees from the "Judenlager of Mazures" who hid for a time at Buirefontaine.^[5]

Heraldry

Blazon: Or, a Castle in gules masoned in sable with three ports open.

Administration

List of Successive Mayors of Aubenton^[6]

Mayors from the 17th century to 1926 

From	To	Name
1640	1648	Roland Dobsen
1848	1649	Dormet
1649	1688	Nicolas Deswatines
1688	1694	Dormet
1694	1704	Jean Grégoire de l'Etang-Neuf
1704	1708	Martin Brucelle
1708	1753	Louis Dambraine
1754	1763	Jacques Coyer
1763	1790	Jacques Pierre Coyer
1790	1800	Louis Antoine Sorlin
1800	1816	Nicolas de Villelongue
1816	1830	Joseph Petit
1830	1831	Edouard Marie Louis Ternaux
1831	1836	César Millet
1836	1840	Paul Emile Barbier
1840	1848	Célestin Landragin
1848	1849	Joseph Millet
1848	1850	Joseph Prud'homme
1850	1870	Célestin Landragin
1871	1902	Isidore Cabaret
1902	1909	Henri Cabaret
1908	1914	Juramie
1914	1919	Procureur
1919	1926	Fernand Dizy

Mayors from 1926

From	To	Name	Party	Position
1926	1946	Henri Bouxin
1946	1971	Charles Dejume
1971	1973	Marcel Ferraris
1973	1983	Guy Navaux
1983	1989	Christian Pillot
1989	2001	René Sablin	PCF
2001	2013	Bernard Noé	UMP	General Council Member (2001-2013)
2013	2020	Denise Charlier[7]

(Not all data is known)

Demography

In 2012 the commune had 679 inhabitants. The evolution of the number of inhabitants is known through the population censuses conducted in the town since 1793. From the 21st century, a census of municipalities with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants is held every five years, unlike larger towns that have a sample survey every year.^{[Note 1]}

Population Change (See database)

1793	1800	1806	1821	1831	1836	1841	1846	1851
1,070	995	1,031	1,349	1,623	1,520	1,593	1,734	1,706

1856	1861	1866	1872	1876	1881	1886	1891	1896
1,604	1,503	1,549	1,496	1,528	1,481	1,436	1,398	1,404

1901	1906	1911	1921	1926	1931	1936	1946	1954
1,328	1,179	1,270	1,160	1,191	1,223	1,032	946	1,059

1962	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999	2006	2008	2010
1,102	1,078	1,002	969	826	713	704	701	713

Sources : Ldh/EHESS/Cassini until 1962, INSEE database from 1968 (population without double counting and municipal population from 2006)

Culture and heritage

The commune has a very large number of buildings and sites that are rtegistered as historical monuments. For a complete list including links to descriptions (in French) and photos click here. An abridged list of the most prominent historical monuments is shown below.

Civil heritage

• The Girls' School (1876)^[8]
• The War memorial (1920)^[9]
• The Town Hall (1868).^[10] The Town Hall contains two items that are registered as historical objects:
  • A Bust: Marianne (19th century)^[11]
  • A Bust: Lieutenant André Bouxin (20th century)^[12]
• Le Chalet Industrial House (1906).^[13] The house contains a Fountain (19th century) which is registered as an historical object.^[14]
• The Railway Station (1885)^[15]
• The old Hotel Collin (13th century)^[16] now the Jean Mermoz Museum. The Museum contains several items which are registered as historical objects:
  • A Bas-relief: Arms surmounted by lions (16th century)^[17]
  • A Bust: Jean Mermoz (20th century)^[18]
  • A Bas-relief: Jean Mermoz as an aviator (1937)^[19]
  • A Bas-relief: Jean Mermoz (20th century)^[20]
  • A Lamp called the Lampedaire of Jean Mermoz (1913)^[21]
  • Jean Mermoz's Cradle (19th century)^[22]
  • A Commemorative plaque for Jean Mermoz (1937)^[23]
• The old Flour Mill (18th century)^[24]
• The old City Walls (14th century)^[25] of which only two remain of the original seven towers: the Tour de Chimay (in the Tower lane) has been transformed into a cottage managed by the commune. Another tower on private land is visible from the road along the Thon

Religious heritage

• The Fortified Parish Church of Notre-Dame (12th century)^[26] There are also a very large number of registered historical objects contained in the Church. A complete list with links to descriptions (in French) can be seen by clicking here.
• A Funeral Monument to André Bouxin (1884).^[27] The monument is surmounted by a large Statue: André Bouxin in a lieutenant's uniform (1925) which is registered as an historical object.^[28]

Photo Gallery

• 

  During the European Heritage Days in 2007, metal barriers prevented access to the church.

• 

  The War Memorial

• 

  The Fire Station

• 

  Wayside Cross

• 

  A capital in the church

• 

  The church organ

• 

  Statue of Notre Dame in the church

• 

  Ceiling in the church

Notable people linked to the commune

• Jean Mermoz, aviator.
• Joseph Nelson Soye, doctor and MP
• Emile Fontaine, Annette Pierron, and Camille Pierron, resistance fighters and "Righteous Among the Nations"

See also

• Communes of the Aisne department

External links

• Inventory of Cultural Heritage for the Canton of Aubenton (French)
• Inventory of cultural heritage for the Commune of Aubenton (French)
• Aubenton on Lion1906
• Aubenton on Google Maps
• Aubenton on Géoportail, National Geographic Institute (IGN) website (French)
• Aubenton on the 1750 Cassini Map
• Aubenton on the INSEE website (French)
• INSEE (French)

Notes and references

Notes

1. At the beginning of the 21st century, the methods of identification have been modified by law No. 2002-276 of 27 February 2002 , the so-called "law of local democracy" and in particular Title V "census operations" which allow, after a transitional period running from 2004 to 2008, the annual publication of the legal population of the different French administrative districts. For municipalities with a population greater than 10,000 inhabitants, a sample survey is conducted annually, the entire territory of these municipalities is taken into account at the end of the period of five years. The first "legal population" after 1999 under this new law came into force on 1 January 2009 and was based on the census of 2006.

References

1. Inhabitants of Aisne (French)
2. Google Maps
3. Géoportail, Map of Aubenton, consulted on 6 January 2012 (French)
4. The Judenlager of Mazures 1942-1944 (French)
5. It was based on a dossier containing the testimony of one of the escapees, Nathan Szuster, that Yad Vashem officially awarded them the title of "Righteous among the Nations".
6. List of Mayors of France (French)
7. Politics? A case of women in the Canton, Michel Mainnevret, L'Union, 17 June 2013, consulted on 17 June 2013 (French)
8. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA02000584 Girls' School (French)
9. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA02000684 War memorial (French)
10. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA02000495 Town Hall (French)
11. Ministry of Culture, Palissy IM02001714 Bust: Marianne (French)
12. Ministry of Culture, Palissy IM02001713 Bust: Lieutenant André Bouxin (French)
13. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA02000686 Le Chalet Industrial House (French)
14. Ministry of Culture, Palissy IM02001917 Fountain (French)
15. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA02000601 Railway Station (French)
16. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA02000682 Hotel Collin (French)
17. Ministry of Culture, Palissy IM02001738 Bas-relief: Arms surmounted by lions (French)
18. Ministry of Culture, Palissy IM02001712 Bust: Jean Mermoz (French)
19. Ministry of Culture, Palissy IM02001711 Bas-relief: Jean Mermoz as an aviator (French)
20. Ministry of Culture, Palissy IM02001710 Bas-relief: Jean Mermoz (French)
21. Ministry of Culture, Palissy IM02001709 Lamp called the Lampedaire of Jean Mermoz (French)
22. Ministry of Culture, Palissy IM02001708 Jean Mermoz's Cradle (French)
23. Ministry of Culture, Palissy IM02001715 Commemorative plaque for Jean Mermoz (French)
24. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA02000689 Flour Mill (French)
25. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA02000589 City Walls (French)
26. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA02000494 Fortified Parish Church of Notre-Dame (French)
27. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA02000733 Funeral Monument to André Bouxin (French)
28. Ministry of Culture, Palissy IM02001717 Statue: André Bouxin in a lieutenant's uniform (French)