in the time of jean-marie vianney - the late 18th and early to middle 19th centuries - dardilly was an agricultural and wine-growing town, with some beautiful houses built by wealthy people from lyons who spent the summer months here. the population was about 1500 inhabitants. at the end of the 19th century the vines were ravaged by phylloxera and many of the town's inhabitants left for lyons to find work, bringing the population down to 982 in 1911. the vine-growers that remained went over to growing fruit.