Île des Cygnes (former island)

[1][2] In the 13th century the peasants of Chaillot on the opposite bank had the right to graze their cattle on the île Maquerelle, in exchange for a payment in kind paid to the Abbaye de Saint-Germain-des-Prés.

[11] Around 1731[12] it was the site of a lodge where wood was cut into logs and stored for firewood, carpentry or boat repairs.

[17] In 1782 the island was the site of a lamp-oil factory[18] On 11 April 1786 a police decree ordered that "all offal of bulls, cows and sheep continue to be brought to the île des Cygnes to be prepared and cooked there as is the custom".

[19] In 1789, the brothers Jacques and Augustin Charles Périer were commissioned by the city of Paris to set up steam mills on the island to meet the flour shortage due to the Seine's winter water levels being too low to power its watermills.

[20] In 1802-1803 the American inventor Robert Fulton conducted his experiments on steam navigation from the island.