A first castle, probably founded in the 13th century, adjoined the Potées estate, which belonged to the Reims cathedral chapter. A group of Armagnacs settled there in the 15th century and over time spread across the region. Duke Antoine de La Marche, who was governor of Sedan from 1599 to 1640, became lord of L'Echelle through his marriage to Anne de Maucourt in 1594. He rebuilt the castle to give it a more up-to-date appearance. The square stilt in the northwest corner dates from this period. Antoine de La Marche des Contes died in September 1740 at the age of 74.
On September 28, 1642, at dawn, Spanish troops sacked the village and attacked the castle. The walls of the castle still show the traces of the cannon balls. In 1730, L'Échelle Castle was acquired by the Reims Cathedral Chapter, and the building was subsequently rededicated as a farm.
During the French Revolution, the building was sold to Simon Pottier, the hat maker from L'Echelle. He then handed over a large part of it to the community, installed the town hall as well as the school and the teachers' accommodation.
Part of the residential buildings of the north wing have been converted into a school history museum, for the nostalgic community (the elementary school from the 1900s to 1960s), with the inkwell, the sergeant major pens (which preceded the pens), the slates, etc.
Source: according to Wikipedia