In the middle ages public wells were equipped with a mechanical pump. This saved the inhabitants from thirst during the siege of 1579 at the time of the Wars of Religion, when the “Carcists” (fervent Catholics from the nearby town of Carcès) surrounded the city and were defeated by a coalition of Protestants and moderate Catholics.

In the 19th century, the small fountain was converted into a washing place by the addition of a trough, for the use of the local residents.