User:Vincent Steenberg/Notepad

History
The commune is named after Saint Columba, who, according to legend, was martyred at Sens in 273. Over time the village has known various names: Sainte-Colombe-en-Donzy (1680), Sainte-Colombe-en-Beaujolais (1698), Sainte-Colombe-sur-Tarare (1704) and Sainte-Colombe-en-Forez (1748). On 22 May 1932 the council officially ratified the name Sainte-Colombe-sur-Gand, after the Gand, the river running through the commune.

Sainte-Colombe was founded in the 5th century. During the Middle Ages the parish of Sainte-Colombe was divided in two. The north around the Gand was part of the lordship of Beaujeu. The south with the château de Montcellier belonged to the County of Forez. The latter château is located 1500 metres south of the village and was built around 1200 by the counts of Forez.

In 1163 Sainte-Colombe was owned by the Ainay Abbey of Lyon. On 30 January 1201 a Guillaume de Sainte-Colombe is mentioned, who later founded a chapel and a burial vault for the House of Sainte-Colombe in Lyon Cathedral.

By 1222 the Lordship of Sainte-Colombe was owned by Arnaud de Saint-Marcel, a vassal of the Lord of Beaujeu. In 1260 Guillaume de Cinget, together with his wife Agathe and their sons sold their half of the tithe in Sainte-Colombe to the Ainay Abbey. The other half was ceded to the same abbey in 1235 by Bonpar de Saint-Marcel, the probable father of Agathe.

In December 1229, following a peace treaty between Humbert V de Beaujeu and Guigues IV of Forez, Sainte-Colombe was awarded to the latter, on the condition that no fortification would be built there that was made of "wood nor stone". Less than a century later in 1320, one Guillard I de Charsala is mentioned as Lord of Sainte-Colombe. His eldest son, Girard, knight, bailiff of Forez and steward of Néronde, pledged loyalty to Guigues VII of Forez on 27 May 1341.

In November 1533 Francis I of France granted Etienne de Sainte-Colombe the right to hold a third annual fair at Sainte-Colombe. Sainte-Colombe did not suffer from the French Wars of Religion, although Etienne de Sainte-Colombe was actively engaged in campaigns against the Huguenots elsewhere. Late in the 16th century Henry IV of France visited François de Sainte-Colome. In 1595 the king wrote to him saying: ‘J'irai taster de ton vin en passant’ (when passing by, I will taste your whine).

During the French Revolution the lordship of Sainte-Colombe was abolished. On 6 January 1794, during the Reign of Terror, the last lord, Jean Louis Eléonor de Sainte-Colombe, was condemned as a traitor and was executed.

From the 17th century onwards Sainte-Colombe profited greatly from the burgeoning textile industry in and around Lyon. In its heyday, late 19th century, Sainte-Colombe boasted 1500 inhabitants, having numerous weaving and embroidery workshops as well as four annual fairs. The Almanach National Didot of 1862 mentions Sainte-Colombe as one of the ‘grands centres internationaux’ (great international centers) for the production of muslin cloth.

Between 1910 and 1923, after years of arguing and planning, the railway line between Balbigny and Régny was constructed, crossing the Bernand west of the village. Here, at the border between Sainte-Colombe and Bussières, between 1914 and 1922 the Pont Marteau was built. After the First World War the production of textiles gradually decreased, and growing numbers of people found work in the cities. In 1966 the last hand-weaving workshop closed. The last muslin cloth workshop closed in 2007, by that time producing only curtains.