Villeneuvette means "new city", & was founded by Colbert, Louis XIV's finance minister, as a way to jumpstart the economy. It was a huge mill for producing fabric. Called a "manufacture royale", it fell out of use, was rebought in 1793 (after the Revolution),& became a "model city" for workers, sort of like Pullman in Chicago. You lived & worked in the town. Napoleon used their fabric for his soldiers' uniforms. It was classified in 1995.