Souboz
Origin of the name Souboz
The village appears on 16 July 1398 in the form «Subol», among the possessions of the abbey of Bellelay. The name remains unexplained.[1][2]
Founding of Souboz
Souboz is a one-street village of farmhouses built from the 17th to the 19th century, in the Petit-Val. Its territory also includes Les Ecorcheresses, the Pichoux and the Montagne du Droit, where there are farms. A fief of the chapter of Moutier-Grandval in the prince-bishopric of Basel, it had two field systems under the Ancien Régime, called réages, that of Souboz and that of Les Ecorcheresses. It belongs to the Reformed parish of Sornetan. The village has remained agricultural: farming still provided 80 % of jobs in 2005. Souboz has been part of the municipality of Petit-Val since the 2015 merger.[1]
History of Souboz
1398. On 16 July Souboz is listed among the possessions of the abbey of Bellelay.[1][2]
1797-1813. With the French invasion of the south of the prince-bishopric of Basel, Souboz enters the département of Mont-Terrible, merged into Haut-Rhin in 1800.[1][2]
1815. The village passes to the canton of Bern. In 1816 the Bernese government places it in the district of Moutier.[1][2]
1820. The bailiff authorises the building of a school.[2]
1837. The first regulations of the residents' municipality are adopted, and a messenger on foot handles the post.[2]
1845-1847. The assemblies approve the building of a new school, which the municipality then disputes. The prefect orders it into use in 1847.[2]
1853. Souboz becomes a mixed municipality.[1]
1860. A road links Souboz to Moutier.[2]
1869. A reading society is founded, and the Pichoux sawmill is sold.[2]
1901. A company is founded to work quarries of glass sand and refractory clay.[2]
1909. The Perceux school burns down.[2]
1926-1937. On the brink of bankruptcy, the municipal assembly delegates its functions to the mayor of Moutier.[1]
1938. The Reposoir restaurant burns down. A dairy society is founded the same year.[2]
1959. Women's suffrage is rejected by 16 votes to 14. Women obtain the vote in 1969.[2]
1963. The Bernese Grand Council grants about 200'000 francs to convert the school and fit out offices for the administration.[2]
1975. On 16 March Souboz decides to remain in the canton of Bern by 73 votes to 16. On 23 June 1974 it had rejected the creation of the canton of Jura by 80 votes to 12.[2]
2014. On 16 March Souboz, the largest of the four municipalities with 134 inhabitants, accepts the Petit-Val merger by 57.57 % yes.[3]
2015. On 1 January Souboz becomes part of the municipality of Petit-Val. On 5 January the new executive meets for the first time in the administration building at Souboz.[3]
Population of Souboz
Sources and references: [1]
| 1629 | 168 |
| 1712 | 116 |
| 1755 | 280 |
| 1804 | 189 |
| 1850 | 200 |
| 1900 | 208 |
| 1950 | 173 |
| 2000 | 115 |
Historic sites in Souboz
One-street village. The farmhouses of Souboz, built from the 17th to the 19th century, line the street.[1]
School and administration. The school, converted in 1963 to house the administration's offices as well, was restored and inaugurated in 1990.[2]
Les Ecorcheresses and the Montagne du Droit. Isolated farms stand on these parts of Souboz's territory.[1]
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Souboz » (Christine Gagnebin-Diacon, version du 14.09.2016)
- Commune de Petit-Val, « Souboz autrefois »
- Dictionnaire du Jura (DIJU), « Petit-Val » (Kiki Lutz, 2016)
Other villages near Souboz
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