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In 1917, at the height of the Great War, the American army chose to set up a large-scale camp (Camp Williams) and a huge depot for supplying expeditionary troops. At the present day, there are almost no visible remnants of this huge but short-lived installation. Started in October 1917 and completed in March 1919, the camp could house up to 24,000 men at a time. Close to two million American soldiers and about four million tons of supplies passed through it. It consisted of 20 wooden warehouses 152 by 15 meters, two steel-frame warehouses 152 by 13 meters for the particular needs of the artillery, 20 hectares of open-air storage facilities, 32 kilometers of railroad platforms along 13 kilometers of narrow-gauge railroads and 95 kilometers of standard-gauge railroads. A switching yard was in operation nearby with 32 kilometers of rails and more than 200 switches. A camp hospital
(no 41) opened in 1918. With a 500-bed capacity, it cared for 12,270 sick
and injured until its permanent closure on 23rd May, 1919.
Is-sur-Tille's
switching yard was transferred to Gevrey-Chambertin in 1931 and the town
had to wait for the setting-up of the atomic energy centre in Valduc in
1958 to get the local economy going again. This was due to a major
population influx which would come to benefit the whole canton. The town was to
see significant changes, including the building of a nursery school and a
secondary school (which was soon to be perceived as too small), as
well as blocks of flats.
precedent (Contents of the historical résumé)
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