The ancient route from Paris to Lyon passed through Vassy, and in the 13th century we find a mention of the town, under the name of Vasseium.

In the 19th century the town gained a train station on the Auxerre-Avallon line, thanks to the factory of Honoré Gariel.

A depot was founded in Paris; the cement, named from then on Ciment romain de Vassy, was employed by considerable businesses, and made the Société's fortune, though Honoré Gariel had by then ceased to take a part in the Société.

"[4]A modest hamlet previously dependent on Étaule, Vassy would thus become — with an influx of blue-collar workers — a commune in its own right.

The hamlet surpassed the town's administrative center: The Gariel family endowed a town girls school (directed by the soeurs de la Providence, or sisters of Providence) with a chapel and a presbytery.