Patrimony
Town Planning
In the middle of the 18th century Mathieu Teisseire, a distiller from Toulon, settled down in Grenoble. He acquired a castle in Poisat and the swamps South of Saint-Martin-d'Hères, right next to Eybens. His son Camille undertook the drainage of the swamp area, making this land exploitable. However, until the 1950's the plain of Saint-Martin-d'Hères (i.e. the lower part of the Grésivaudan valley) was flooded several times a year by the rise in the Isère River and the reversal of the flow of the Sonnant River in the North (which follows the former bed of the Isère and Mogne rivers in the West).
In 1771, the Grenoble-Montmélian royal way n°2, located on the right bank of the Isère River, opened and ran through Saint-Martin-d'Hères in a West-East direction, from Grenoble to Gières. Around 1850, a few family businesses were declared unhealthy and banished to beyond the city walls -tanneries, dyeing workshops, abattoirs, candle factories, tallow foundries, sewage disposals- settled along this new road, beyond the military limits (some 500 metres from the Grenoble city walls) North-West of Saint-Martin-d'Hères. Houses were built, shops opened and a hamlet developed between Grenoble and Saint-Martin-d'Hères. This hamlet was named Croix-Rouge, after a procession cross (croix) that used to stand there. Two tile factories, a pottery and a rope-making workshop were also established on this road, as well as a distillery in a place known as Paganon (named after the distillery owner).
In 1867, the Grenoble-Chambéry railway ran through St-Martin-d'Hères along a North-South axis. It corresponded to the future administrative division between a Southern rural zone and a Northern zone dedicated to industries, local craft workshops and shopkeepers.
Grenoble-Vizille tramway track and Grenoble-Chambéry railway track
In 1875, a Grenoble-Vizille (via Gières) tramway line was authorized. The tram track ran along the royal way n°2, known today as D62 (Departmental Road n°62) or Grande Rue (High Street). Originally run by steam, it became electric by 1900.
The village's square in Saint-Martin-d'Hères
In 1880, a public square was created in the village. It housed in its centre a revolutionary stele, erected in 1789, commemorating the abolition of privileges. In 1889, two schools were built: one in the village, housing two classes and the town hall, and a second one in Croix-Rouge, providing four classes.
At the time of the 1896 census, Saint-Martin-d'Hères' population had reached 1700 inhabitants, i.e. 900 in the Northern part and 800 in the Southern zone. Out of 314 houses occupied by 438 households,169 of them were farms (these figures are not completely reliable since the population was undergoing changes and was therefore difficult to count). The majority of occupations declared then were of agricultural concern and 577 out of the total 996 hectares were used for one agricultural purpose or another: exploitable land, grassland, timberland.
In 1885, the nuns of the "Congrégation de la Délivrance" - whose aim was to provide help to the most underprivileged section of the population - decided to establish themselves in Croix-Rouge, a district known to be very poor and deprived. A convent and church dedicated to Notre-Dame-de-la-Délivrance were built and the nuns settled there in 1887.