The founder of the orphanage was born in 1806 in Etuff, then came to live with his grandfather in Rochetaillée before being ordained a priest in 1829. Abbé Bizot therefore had the idea of opening an orphanage, and the project was favourably received by the prefect and Mr Cunin Gridame, then Minister of Agriculture. Napoleon Ill himself sent a grant of 100 francs. The Plongerot estate was purchased in 1847 by subscription from local notables. The various administrators, including the Brother Workers, trained generations of young farm workers from among the orphans entrusted to their care.
Before the year 1000, the area around Rochetaillée was occupied by lay or religious communities whose mission was to clear the surrounding forests and set up rural farms. This is evidenced by the existence of a church which, in 1140, was attached to the priory of Saint-Martin de Langres, then to the abbey of Auberive, the two communities having carried out a "demarcation of their respective estates" in 1190 (a kind of land consolidation at the time).
From the 11th century onwards, land and woodland therefore belonged mainly to Auberive Abbey and the lords of Rochetaillée. Over the centuries, this led to conflicts, disputes and lawsuits, with the occasional violent incident. The local lords appeared at the beginning of the 12th century. The first known was Henri de Rochetaillée, whose son, a relative of Saint-Bernard, became bishop of Langres. These first lords established a "leper house", which is commemorated today in the locality known as "La Maladière". The line disappeared during the 14th century, which is hardly surprising given the number of different conflicts that took place during this period. It was Edmé d'Arbot who revived the abandoned parish and founded the chapel of Sainte-Anne.
In 1616, the village became part of the property of the d'Aumont family, one of whose members signed a "redemption contract relating to the servitude and mainmorte of the inhabitants of Rochetaillée" on 15 June 1720. But the deed was not gratuitous, because in exchange, the inhabitants undertook jointly and severally, for themselves and their successors, to pay the said lord a sum of sixty pounds per year in perpetuity... In December 1769, Lord Jean Jacques de la Coste took possession of the estate, which he owned until 1789.
Domaine de Plongerot à Rochetaillée
