Durfort in the Middle Ages was a small fortified village called Castlar, a rocky spur located on the right bank of the Sor at the entrance of the village coming from Malamort (a location upstream). It is only from 1357 that the inhabitants of Durfort occupied the present village built at the bottom of the valley. It is probable that the inhabitants felt the need to get closer to their essential tools, the mills built on the Sor.
Until the 19th century, the village lived othanks to two main resources. These were the copper and agriculture. The first seems to employ about half of the workers and is characterised by the trades of hammerers, boilermakers and merchants.
The second includes ploughmen, brewers and millers. Durfort never owned more than a few acres of farmland; it is assumed that these ploughmen worked on the land of Sorèze too.
Handicraft and commercial activity: the working of leather, copper, basketry, glass, attracts tourists all year round. Recently, it is necessary to add the making of duvets and sleeping bags with down.
