The area is known for its long artisanal past, as the inhabitants have made use of the locomotive power of the Durolle River since the Middle Ages.

After multiple years of mobilizing to protect the architectural heritage of Vallée des Rouets, the town hall of Thiers, under the direction of deputy mayor Maurice Adevah-Pœuf, opened a tourist route to the public in 1998.

The term “Vallée des Rouets” is used to describe the part of the valley of the Durolle where the number of old water wheels is significant.

[3] La vallée des Rouets is located on the eastern bank of the Durolle in the department of Puy-de-Dôme in the administrative region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes).

The western part of the valley, after the last mill, continues its winding path before gently widening to make room for the larger factories constructed on the banks of the Durolle.

[8] The collapse of the western bedrock allows both sides of the fault to fill with sedimentary rocks, forming the Limagne basin upon which the lower town of Thiers is built.

In the east, the bedrock that has not collapsed lies under the Forez mountains, which are made up of igneous rocks that support the upper town.

[12] Further upstream, the Durolle cuts through the towns La Monnerie-le-Montel, Celles-sur-Durolle, Les Salles, Cervières, Noirétable and Chabreloche.

[14] The Thiers train station is located 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from the tourist information point at the valley's entrance.

[15] The hydropower capability of the Durolle has been used by Thiers since the Middle Ages to power flour mills, tanneries, papermakers' mallets, and with the development of cutlery, smelter's pans and grinding wheels.

The manufacturer determined the caliber; then, after the horn carver[20] delivered the handles, all the pieces would be returned to the fitters in the faubourgs of Thiers.

During this period, the Thiers region was the largest production area in France for knives and other bladed tools, far ahead of Châtellerault, Nogent-en-Bassigny, and Paris, and on par with Sheffield in the United Kingdom.

[12] This mill, Chez Lyonnet, was continuously maintained by the owner until his death, when the town of Thiers and the "Pays Thiernois" association picked up the torch in 1980s.

[25] The mills remained in a state of abandonment after their closure and deteriorated rapidly in the dark and humid environment at the bottom of the gorges of the Durolle where they were built.

[25] In the early 1980s, the Pays thiernois association assembled to protect architectural heritage of the Vallée des Rouets.

[28] The structure of the museum was special in that the production association La Maison des Couteliers added the exhibits.

In 1992, the second part of the museum opened to the public in the l'Homme des bois house on Rue de la Coutellerie.

[28][25] Even if there were no more couteliers working in the valley and fewer than 10 in the Vallée des Usines in January 2015, Thiers remains the largest center of cutlery in France since the 19th century.

[35] The Vallée des Rouets is located near the December 1980 conservation and development plan (Plan de sauvegarde et de mise en valeur, PSMV) of Thiers[36] None of the objects or buildings are included on the list of monuments historiques, but many buildings in direct proximity to the Vallée des Rouets are counted in the Inventaire général du patrimoine culturel (General inventory of cultural heritage), a list of cultural sites in France:[37] The Vallée des Rouets is one of the most popular tourist sites in Thiers.

[40] A the second part of the museum, located at 58 Rue de la Coutellerie,[40] couteliers explain and demonstrate how knives are manufactured in the Thiernois tradition in a room designed after 19th century forges.