In the beginning
The oldest archives of our family mention the birth in 1628 of Estienne Convert, miller at the Chaffoux mill in Saint-Etienne du Bois, (Ain department, France).
The Bressan mill
Most of the mills around Bourg en Bresse, on the Veyle, the Reyssouze and their tributaries, belonged, at one time or another, to the Convert family.
Milling was, in our family, a very long story whose high point was around 1920, a time when the consortium crushed 1000 quintals per day.
Mother Convert, wearing the Bresse habit, in prayer.
In 1887, Agathange Convert bought the Vonnas’ mill.
With the renovation of this powerful mill, the Converts became millers and reached an industrial scale.
Convert mills around 1930
Convert mills around 1930
Agathange Convert 1852-1919
Advertisement for Convert mills around 1960
Convert mills were the leader in Savoyard polenta and Bresse gaudes (specialty made from roasted corn flour).
From milling to electricity
With the development of mills in the interwar period, the energy of the small streams of Bresse was insufficient to support the need for power required for grinding grain on an industrial scale.
In Bourg en Bresse, power was also needed for the Saint Pierre mill. It was provided by the Union Electrique. But one day, the contract having expired, the Union Electrique would not renew it without doubling the prices. The five Convert brothers; Agathange, Prosper, Louis, Félix and Hubert, furious, tried to make their own electricity. They found a powerful waterfall in Neuville sur Ain. The town of Bourg en Bresse, willing to get rid of the Union Electrique encouraged the Converts. The five Convert brothers adapted quickly; they dared to capture the abundant water of the Ain river.
Energy needs were increasing, we were in the era of rural electrification. The Neuville-Bourg-Polliat-Vonnas high-voltage lines crossed the territories of the many municipalities that requested their electrification. This is the audacious origin of the Neuville sur Ain hydroelectric plant and the Convert electrical networks.
Between 1955 and 1971, our main mills burned down, thus sounding the death knell for milling era for the Convert family.
This is how the Convert company gradually abandoned milling for hydroelectricity.
Construction site of the Neuville-sur-Ain power plant. Mr. Louis Convert
The engine room at the Neuville sur Ain power plant. Mr. Prosper Convert.
Réseaux Électriques CONVERT Company
The Saint Pierre mill thermal power plant in Bourg en Bresse. Mr. Paul Convert
The nationalization of electricity
In 1946, nationalization deprived our family of its electricity network.
The Neuville power plant was to experience, after many twists and turns, a different fate since it was part of the facilities excluded from nationalization.
It was finally returned to the Convert family thanks to Prosper’s tenacity.
Mr. Prosper Convert 1878-1972 – Former President of the Meunerie Française, former President of the Autonomous Power Plants union and great defender of small hydroelectric producers
Letter from Mr. Pierre Simon, Founding President of EDF (Electricite de France) to Mr. Prosper Convert.