Habitation la Sucrerie of Anses d'Arlet is a beautiful house which dates from the late 18th century, it bears witness to the industrial history of the Hayot family. Today it belongs to the Hayot group with Habitation Pécoul and Habitation Clément.
In 1788, Jean-François Hayot left his coffee plantation of Saint-Esprit and bought the Sucrerie which was the largest residential of Anses d'Arlet. In 1845, Michel Hayot, heir to Jean-François Hayot and Mayor of the South municipality South (Anses d'Arlet, Diamant, Sainte-Luce) turned to sugar cane cultivation in the context of industrial revolution.
The acquisition in the mid 19th century of l'Habitation Poterie and neighboring properties in Trois-Ilets leading industrial diversification with the manufacture of clay building materials (bricks and tiles). These plantations will also be places of culture of sugar cane that will be processed by the factory of Pointe Simon (present station taxi Fort-de-France).
A key step was taken with Octave Hayot (1843-1892) was sent in 1868 by his father, Louis Hayot the new Usine du François (François factory) as a collaborator Emile Bougenot, a metropolitan mechanical engineer installed in Martinique to create a new type of factories. Beside him, he learned on the one hand of the industrial manufacturing technique of sugar and on the other hand the functioning of a modern company with shareholders.
This pooling of a new technical know-how and local production capacity was causing a great industrial success. At the end of 1868, Octave Hayot met some planters of Rivière-Salée area, starting with the family homes of Trois-Ilets, to found, with the help of Emile Bougenot, the Usine centrale du Petit-Bourg at Habitation Génipa.
In the following years, of millers rivalries brought his family to take control of neighboring plantations to guarantee the supply of the plant and its viability. Octave Hayot is considered the initiator of the agricultural development of Rivière-Salée plain hitherto deemed not conducive to agriculture due to its marshy character. He died prematurely in 1892 and his family took over the management of the factory at a crucial moment in the history of Martinique.
Thereafter, the eruption of Mount Pelée causes the death of many traders. Millers then become major players in the Martinican economy. Descendants (Joseph, Simon, St. Michael, Leo and Yves Hayot) will play an essential role in the sugar industry. They will direct many factories to Robert at Francis or the Lareinty until the late 1960s when the sugar crisis puts an end to the production of cane sugar.
The family then reconvert in the sale of consumer goods and founded the Group Hayot which owns several stores and shops of the island.
To get there follow the D7 to the entrance of the village of Anses d'Arlet, the Habitation is located at the intersection of D7 and D37. It will park your vehicle at the entrance of the village.