Distillerie d’eaux-de-vie de Cognac Richard

The Richard distillery was built in 1900 for Philippe Richard, a Cognac merchant. In 1912, one of his sons, who had just completed his military service, was offered a trip to Canada by his father before taking up his family responsibilities. He joined one of his father's friends, Albert Mallet, a cognac importer, in Cherbourg. On 10 April 1912, they boarded the Titanic in 2nd class, after writing a postcard to his mother, telling her how excited he was. The weather was fine and he thought he would have a good crossing. Émile Richard disappeared in the shipwreck on 14 April 1912 and his body was never found. In 1922, his brothers joined forces and set up a company. Five wineries were built in the 1940s. In the 1990s, the buildings belonged to Coste de Cognac. Since 2005, the premises have been converted to house the headquarters of the Pays des Vals de Saintonge, before becoming the headquarters of the Communauté de Communes des Vals de Saintonge in 2014.