The Forges de Syam (Syam Forges) are forge works and sheet metal mills at the confluence of the rivers Ain and Saine to the south of Champagnole in the French département of Jura. History of the site The forges were still active in 2005, and still used some machinery from the 19th century, when the buildings were erected. A tilt hammer mentioned 1757 and 1788 has been working as early as 1763, according to the record of a law case of 1763. It is reasonable to imagine it as part of the region's expansion in the metal-working industry in the 16th century, after establishment of the first smelting furnaces in the Saône valley. The basic business was making scythes. These had a good reputation, and the making of them was a finely honed skill. In the 18th century, only a few forges had mastered the technique of using a mechanical hammer. So much was this a problem that French producers couldn't keep up with demand for scythes. They were imported, particularly from Styria, in the south-east of modern Austria, beyond the Tyrol. It was possible to develop this very skilled craft in the Jura owing to the expertise of immigrant workers from the Tyrol (just beyond the far end of Switzerland). In conjunction with this skill, extensive woodland on the Jura mountains around the town provided the raw material for charcoal, a form of carbon free of sulphur and other impurities that make most coal unsuitable for iron working. Extensive woodland was an asset, as it takes many trees to make a relatively small amount of iron goods. In 1763, the owners, the Péry family, produced more than 15,000 scythes and more than 60,000 iron tires for the wheels of vehicles. Nineteenth century After the French Revolution, the production of good-quality scythes provided an important opportunity for investment. Other industrialists of the Jura, of the Vosges and Alsace began production, contributing to Charles-Joseph Péry declaring himself bankrupt on 24 July 1810. The unit was bought the same year by Claude Jobez (1745–1830), of Morez. He had already made a fortune from selling clocks from the Franche-Comté region in Paris, and from financing several iron workshops. Also in 1810, Etienne Monnier who had married Adélaïde, the daughter of Claude Jobez in 1800, invested in the company alongside his father-in-law and the latter's son, Emmanuel. Between 1811 and 1820, they built a