The village of Cernay is mentioned as early as 768 in a charter from Pépin le Bref: it was part of the Yveline forest bequeathed to the abbey of Saint Denis. In the 11th century, it belonged to Simon III de Neauphle who founded an abbey, later to belong to the Cistercian order, next to the village in the valley of the Rû des Vaux. To distinguish between the two townships, the village is designated Cernay-la-Ville. A small lordship under the jurisdiction of Chevreuse, the domain was held during the 16th -to-18th centuries by the Furet family, while the abbot of Vaux-de-Cernay possessed a major part of the land. Isolated hamlets and farms completed the main town which developed itself around a triangular shaped market-place where hostels abounded during the 19th century. At that time, Cernay was a very popular spot for Sunday outings. The landscape, comprising forests, ponds, waterfalls and boulders, used to attract painters: François Louis Français (1814-1897), Champin, Jean Alexis Achard, Emmanuel Lancier and Léon Germain Pelouze were members of the Cernay School.
