Over time, the border between Switzerland and France moved many times. The situation became complicated in the 1850s. France and Switzerland then decided to normalize relations between the Valley of Dappes and the Vallée de Joux. The Treaty
of Dappes was signed on 8 December 1862 for the purpose to adjust the
boundary. It was finally ratified by Switzerland on 20 February 1863.
The strategic route through
Vallée des Dappes, long a source of irritation between the two states,
was ceded to France in exchange for a like area
immediately to the north.
In
1862 while the centre of La Cure still was French, a 25 year old man, Mr
Ponthus (1837-1895) after learning about the reconstruction of the
boundary which was going to divide the town of La Cure in one French part
and another Swiss part, very quickly constructed a three-floor building
straight on what should be the new boundary. According to the Treaty
already existing houses at the moment of ratification should not be
affected, and Mr Ponthus finished the works well before the
ratification. On the Swiss side he opened a grocery shop and on the
French side a bar. After his death his two sons, Alphonse and Raymond
Ponthus got into economical difficulties, and in 1921 they sold their two
buildings to Mr Jules-Jean Arbez, the grandfather of the present owners.
Mr Arbez turned the property into a successful hotel and restaurant
business.
