Le Moulin Brégeon was in ruins, having been abandoned in the 1970s, when modern machines finally replaced the wheat-grinding paddle wheels. There were broken windows, collapsing roofs, blackened walls, a kitchen full of old wine barrels and cobwebs, stained floors, and rooms filled with old grain sacks.
But Robinson, who says he lived in 10 foster homes starting when he was 2, and survived serious physical abuse in several of them, was undaunted.
An itinerant named Rene was squatting in the old mill, along with his seven donkeys. Robinson let him stay on for several years. ''I was just in heaven after I took possession of the place," he recalled. ''I began creating my garden, we were all cutting hay, we sat by the river and looked at the sky. All the elements were there. It was a little what I imagine France was like centuries ago, when there was no technology, no pollution, and no visual flash to hurt your eyes."
The three partners renovated the mill with the help of local craftsmen, who train for five years and apprentice for two, and have become their friends. They learn styles of working in stone and wood dating to the 15th century. Robinson, who scours local antique stores and flea markets for items like 19th-century decorative radiators, can go on for hours about one stone window frame in the guest cottage at the mill, which was handcarved in a style dating to the Renaissance.
Robinson recently purchased all the buildings in the village, which were abandoned about 20 years ago when local residents started going to larger towns to shop. He now owns the remains of an old dry goods store, a blacksmith's shop still crammed with all its original tools, and even a type of bowling alley.
He bought the buildings, he said, to make sure they are not razed in favor of new, modern structures.
''The French people are being hounded to modernize," Robinson said. ''My dream is to help them preserve their traditions. The kind of beauty you see in the Loire Valley is . . . a different kind of pleasure because it's enriching to all the senses."
Contact Dana Kennedy, a freelance writer in New York, at dkennedy@aol.com.
