Hameau Sign

This is an old road sign. It marks the presence of a hameau up the road. In French, a hameau is a hamlet, but a hameau is something similiar but not quite. A hameau is a collection of buildings where people live. It had its origins in farming. The farm owner would build his house. Then more houses would be added for the farm hands, and his grown children and their families. Soon you had a collection of houses called a hameau. They were given names. This is the road sign to the hameau of Les Chapelins.