Coal mining was already practiced on these lands in the 15th century. There were then only fields and forests but no village or dwelling.
La Machine is a recent municipality which was therefore built around mines.
King Louis XIV no longer wanted to be dependent on the English for the supply of coal and in 1669 Colbert reported the presence of profitable coal in Nivernais.
The town takes its name from the first coal mining machine installed in 1689 by Belgian engineer Daniel Michel. It was a wooden merry-go-round with a horse circling. La Machine takes the rank of commune in 1790.
The city has grown with the development of mining activity and the arrival of new workers from the countryside, other mining areas, but also from the foreigner (Poland, Italy, China…).
Today this town of about 3,400 inhabitants retains a rich historical mining heritage, although the last well closed in 1974.
Pay attention because around every corner, the mining past can manifest.
Its greatest ambassadors are the Mine Museum, the Glénons well, the old mining towns and the shale mounds (slag heaps).
