Contemporary period

The industrial revolution, which arrived around 1830, profoundly transformed the local activity. The water or wind mills were abandoned because their use was often disrupted by the lack of water in the streams or by wind surges. In the big cities, the recent steam mills can run day and night, as long as they are regularly fed. They are more efficient and contribute to the disappearance of traditional mills.

 The year of the decision to build the Chemin de Fer du Littoral was the year of the decision to build the Chemin de Fer du Littoral. The concession agreement was signed by the Prefect of the Var on September 19 of that year.
After Pharaonic works, disrupted by countless land acquisitions, expropriations and various difficulties encountered on the ground, the Hyères la Foux section, including the Bormes station passage, was opened to the public on August 4, 1890.

The newly created CP railway company was of great service to the development of the town of Bormes. The road network was limited and often in poor condition, making travel hazardous. Visitors from all over the world and local products could now travel more easily and participate in the development of the town.

In the same period as the Industrial Revolution, the Mediterranean shores saw the arrival of a new population that came to take advantage of the therapeutic benefits that the region’s climate could offer. The first tourists came to take advantage of the fresh air, the winter sun and the presence of nature everywhere.

After Queen Victoria’s visit to Hyères in April 1892, the region turned to high-end tourism, attracting wealthy families from around the world. Hotels of great standing and luxury villas were built. As early as 1889, railroads were built around Marseille, all along the coast. The installation opened up hamlets and villages, until then isolated from the big cities. The local production of cork, cut flowers or even fishing products took the train to the big cities.

In Bormes, the Grand Hotel was built at the top of the village, dominating the plain. Its construction took place between 1903 and 1906. The hotel was a great success from the moment it opened.

The year 1913 represents a major step for the village of Bormes. As a result of the community’s work and determination, the village became a “climatic resort”: it positioned itself at a high level of service quality. In order to comply with the new classification, major sanitation and drinking water access works have been undertaken. Le lavandou, the fishermen’s district of the commune, asks to become a commune in its own right, separated from Bormes. With this separation, the commune of Bormes is cut off from a large part of its surface area and half of its population.

1st world war. Even if the war of trenches takes place far from our region, the young population and in age to make turn the economy of the commune, must now join the front. Not all of them will come back, the nation’s living forces, which had survived the Great War, are under the influence of a deadly Spanish flu epidemic as early as 1919. For Bormes, the “lack of manpower” will be so important that the activities, notably those of olive oil production, will be disrupted, sometimes leading to the definitive closure of production sites.

Between the two world wars, the region tries to regain an acceptable level of activity.
A traditional festival, dating back to the 17th century, the “carreto ramado” (the flowered cart) is brought back to life in a post-war France. The 1st official flower parade of the village was officially born at the beginning of 1920. It is a small parade of carts decorated with seasonal flowers and branches. It was a celebration of the arrival of good weather and the hope of better days with abundant harvests.

The Museum of the village of Bormes les Mimosas was created by the painter Emmanuel-Charles Benezit, in 1926. The collection made available to the painter is rich in several works, including 8 drawings and studies of the painter and engraver Jean Charles Cazin.

As soon as the Bormes Museum was created, Benezit ensured its conservation, completing the collection with several works donated by artists,

The municipal museum of Bormes was set up in the large room on the first floor of the town hall and the works were exhibited in the council room.

The first exhibition of works of art under the banner of the newly created museum is organized by the artistic home “Lou Calen” from March 28 to April 11, 1919. from March 28 to April 11, 1926.

34 artists participated, among them Lucien Pissarro, Theo Van Rysselberghe, Edmond Cross and Alfred Courmes.