Located in the hamlet of La Houillère, in the commune of Champagney, it was the first real mine shaft to be dug in the Ronchamp coalfield.

On 10 April 1824, this shaft also experienced the first firedamp explosion in the coalfield, which killed twenty people and injured sixteen others.

Excavation of the Saint-Louis shaft began in 1810 using a horse engine, to the south of the hamlet of La Houillère, which was then the centre of coal mining in Ronchamp.

[5] It was an English engine with a pendulum, condenser, low-pressure piston 0.45 meters in diameter and 10 bhp; it was manufactured in Mr. Rottewel's workshops in Boston.

[8] In April 1824, research work was carried out to the north of the shaft, not far from the Basvent gallery, in rugged terrain.

[10][11] The explosion that caused this accident had originated in a reconnaissance site located near a fault, where the gas had accumulated despite a slight release.

A new 48 hp engine, of the same type as the old one, was installed in July of the same year to operate four pumps delivering 375 m3 of water per day.

[9] These dams finally broke in the spring of 1828, rendering the mine inaccessible, as it was flooded to a depth of 13 meters above the upper receipt.

Two years later, the water was depleted in a search for the alleged coal deposits left by the previous owners, but this was unsuccessful and the shaft was abandoned.

After the closure of the coalfields, the stables opposite the old shaft were bought by a private owner before being destroyed by fire.

[23] At the beginning of the 21st century, no trace of the installations remained (apart from the ruins of a small outbuilding) and the shaft was located under a pavilion at the foot of a hill.

The housing estate was built on a mound above the stables, opposite the Saint-Louis shaft, which had been backfilled and converted.