At the beginning, the few buildings in the village of Le Brassus were only stables designed for hosting herds of cattle and shepherds during the summer season.
 
It turned out to be the villagers of Le Lieu who colonized the Municipality of Le Chenit and thus the village of Le Brassus.
 
With the arrival of the colonists, around 1520, industry also came to the village. The sand in Praz-Rodet incited many glaziers to settle down. In addition, the river of Le Brassus represented an important energy source. In those days, the village of Le Brassus had up to three glassworks, one tilt hammer for iron works, one blast furnace, one mill as well as some forges. Iron ore deposits were found in Bas-Chenit, Le Risoud and Les Charbonnières.
 
Master Jean Herrier exploited the river Le Brassus from 1555 on and associated himself with Mr. Jérôme Varro, whose rich and intriguing heirs had their land registered as noble fief. Due to their ability, the Varro families carried on a veritable monopoly in iron industry at the end of the sixteenth century.

The lack of iron ore soon put an end to the iron industry, which was replaced by cutters and watchmaker- farmers in the eighteenth century.
 
Today, the village of Le Brassus is the headquarters of several precision-tool and, especially, high-class watchmaking industries.