In 1859, when the new administrative districts were created, almost all the districts were named after a building or an emblematic place located near within its limits.
This area did not yet have a truly emblematic monument until the 18th century. century.
In this rural district, the most important monuments were a tobacco factory called La Manufacture du Gros-Caillou, and a religious building, the small church of Saint-Pierre-du Gros Caillou dating from from 1738.
This name would designate in the Middle Ages, a delimitation between the lands conceded by the King of France to the parishes of Sainte-Geneviève and Saint-Germain-des-Prés. We do not know where was exactly this terminal, nor if it resembled to grave; a “big rock”
But the inhabitants have become accustomed to naming their neighborhood, located to the limit between these two censives, the “faubourg du Gros-Caillou”.
