Massevaques

"The path, lined in places by a wall, used to lead from Rousses to  Massevaques. Some locals still remember having used it to get back up to Massevaques after a wake in Rousse. At the start of the path, you can see on your left the small walls of two bancels (crop terraces), where rye was grown. Then you enter the beech forest. This slope is exposed to the north and west winds, which suits beech, but it is only in the more protected vales that you will find a few sweet chestnuts interspersed with conifers. This forest is still exploited by the inhabitants of the district, who cut their firewood here.” (P. Grime)

This col (pass)] used to be pastureland, but has now been abandoned by the local flocks. Oral tradition states that a battle between Camisards and Catholics took place at this pass. The inhabitants of Rousses and Fraissinet-de-Fourque were in fact in conflict over grazing rights. The former were overwhelmingly Protestants, while the latter were Catholics. It is said that the graves are at the col and that a bird, incarnating the soul of the dead, comes to sing there when anyone passes by.

Massevaques has had up to 80 inhabitants. It was after the First World War that desertification intensified. Those who returned from the fighting chose to work in administration: the railways, the police... There are currently two year-round households left in Massevaques.

This tree used to be a presence throughout the lives of the Cévenols, and was considered the tree of life. Its wood was used for building cradles, one's furniture and roof structures. It was also used for firewood. The fruit was eaten in bajanat, a soup made from dried chestnuts (bajanes), or ground into flour. Chestnuts were dried in clèdes, small schist buildings located in the orchards. The fruit also fed the farm's animals.

With their rugged terrain, the Cévennes became a refuge during the Second World War. About 60 Jews were hidden in Vébron and Rousses, a dozen of them in the hamlet of Les Ablats. Whilst they certainly benefited from the locals' silence, they were able to seek refuge here thanks to the mayors of the two villages, the pastors and an assistant to the prefect. Reportedly some of them were even sent directly here by the prefecture.