History and the Region

RESEARCH : It is one of the words that makes up the acronym A.R.H.R.V.S.T. and is certainly the dominant one since the founding of the association. Research : an historian’s archival research but also investigative field work, the reading and compilation of learned works but also the collection of minor documents, and all with the single aim of discovering our heritage.

The revelation of our heritage through the five exhibitions in which forgotten, unpublished documents resurface. The revelation of our heritage through conferences to explain our local specificity. The revelation of our heritage through short articles in the press or more elaborate thesis in order that our heritage of river transport and boatmen be better known.
This groundwork, which often goes unnoticed or is misunderstood, bore fruit nonetheless : in acknowledgement of their work, the association became a member of the prestigious Historical Federation of the South West in 1987. This recognition is due to the work of a whole team.

Links with other local groups remain strong : the ‘Majoral Monestier’ which presides over the annual ‘Félibrées’ celebrations and which was present at the founding of the association, came upon invitation by the latter, to celebrate the Bournat assembly at St Capraise in October 1987. Les Pesqueyroux are also often asked to lend their exhibitions (which have become travelling exhibitions). The Tuilières dam exhibition was lent to the EDF (Electricity of France) in 1987, the river transport exhibition was lent to the Mauzac Nautical Club in 1988, was returned to St Capraise for the River Transport Festival of 1990 and lent to the ADDC for its ‘Living Waters’ day in 1995. Pieces from the collection were exhibited on the local stand during the 1998 Félibrée at Lalinde and at the Regional Book Salon in 1999.

The « Museum » is open by appointment. School groups and Senior Citizens’ groups visit regularly and it sometimes holds an « Open Day » like, for instance, at the 1990 St Capraise Marathon or the inauguration of the Henri Gonthier monument.
The boatman died on 1st April 2000 and Les Pesqueyroux decided straight away that they wished to honour the memory of the last boatman of the Dordogne by erecting a stele in front of his house situated between the river and the canal. It was inaugurated on 7th October 2000 in the presence of M. Bétachet, Sub-Prefect, Michel Suchod, MP, and several mayors including Daniel Garrigue, Mayor of Bergerac, Pierre-Alain Peris of Lalinde and André Goustat of Mauzac.
Publication works have also been undertaken. The first publication is of a lithography drawn in 1984 by the Périgourdin artist, Maurice Albe, of what became the association’s logo. One or more post cards were produced for each exhibition and there now exist nine. In 1992 the Museum of Bergerac produced, in association with Les Pesqueyroux, a video. The idea of producing a book was first raised during the general assembly of 1987. Various university lecturers were to have written part of the text but in fact the project never saw the light of day. However, the chapter about the history of the canal which fell to Marion Gontier was published in a magazine in May 1990. A second attempt was made in 1999 when the association planned to subsidise the work of a local author about the great floods. However, the idea was abandoned when two years later work still had not begun. The third attempt was to be the successful one : an unpublished report about the Dordogne dating from 1867 was given to the association by one of its members, Michel Cardone. Several municipalities (Baneuil, Bergerac, Lalinde, Mauzac, Mouleydier and St Capraise) sponsored the project and « The Dordogne in 1867 » by Charles Maurice Fargaudie, from the Department of Civil Engineering, was published in 2002.


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