Orville, Pas-de-Calais
Encyclopedia
Orville is a commune
in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France
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mines. The discovery of phosphates could be compared at the time to the gold rush of America's far-west. There were up to 30 quarries extracting the phosphate-rich sand.
The phosphate mines that had been discovered in 1887 were in use until the beginning of the 20th century, when richer and cheaper Moroccan and Tunisian imports became available. Extraction of sand for building and other use was still operating in the 1970s.
The present name of this site is "the buttes of Orville" and is currently used as an international renowned clay pigeon shooting
ground.
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
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Geography
Orville is situated 20 miles (32 km) southwest of Arras, at the junction of the D24 and D938 roads, by the banks of the river Authie, on the border with the department of the SommeSomme
Somme is a department of France, located in the north of the country and named after the Somme river. It is part of the Picardy region of France....
.
History
In the early 20th century, the village of Orville was home to more than a thousand people, among them more than 500 Belgian workers who had been attracted by the presence of phosphatePhosphate
A phosphate, an inorganic chemical, is a salt of phosphoric acid. In organic chemistry, a phosphate, or organophosphate, is an ester of phosphoric acid. Organic phosphates are important in biochemistry and biogeochemistry or ecology. Inorganic phosphates are mined to obtain phosphorus for use in...
mines. The discovery of phosphates could be compared at the time to the gold rush of America's far-west. There were up to 30 quarries extracting the phosphate-rich sand.
The phosphate mines that had been discovered in 1887 were in use until the beginning of the 20th century, when richer and cheaper Moroccan and Tunisian imports became available. Extraction of sand for building and other use was still operating in the 1970s.
The present name of this site is "the buttes of Orville" and is currently used as an international renowned clay pigeon shooting
Clay pigeon shooting
Clay pigeon shooting, also known as clay target shooting, and formally known as Inanimate Bird Shooting, is the art of shooting at special flying targets, known as clay pigeons or clay targets, with a shotgun or any type of firearm....
ground.
Population
| 1962 | 1968 | 1975 | 1982 | 1990 | 1999 | 2006 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 411 | 409 | 318 | 277 | 325 | 325 | 336 |
| Census count starting from 1962: Population without duplicates | ||||||
Places of interest
- The church of St.Martin, dating from the nineteenth century.
- The watermillWatermillA watermill is a structure that uses a water wheel or turbine to drive a mechanical process such as flour, lumber or textile production, or metal shaping .- History :...
on the river Authie. - Two 18th-century farmhouseFarmhouseFarmhouse is a general term for the main house of a farm. It is a type of building or house which serves a residential purpose in a rural or agricultural setting. Most often, the surrounding environment will be a farm. Many farm houses are shaped like a T...
s. - DovecoteDovecoteA dovecote or dovecot is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be square or circular free-standing structures or built into the end of a house or barn. They generally contain pigeonholes for the birds to nest. Pigeons and doves were an important food source historically in...
s.