PELLA HISTORY

 

The town of Pella was founded in l847 under the leadership of Dominie (Reverend) Hendrik Pieter Scholte who was actively involved in a Separatist movement in the Netherlands. Several ministers and their congregations declined to follow an edict of the king to follow the State Church's style of worship.

 

The Separatists thought the State Church was too lax, too modern and theologically unsound. Beginning in 1834 in Ulrum, Groningen, the Netherlands, many of the Separatists were imprisoned, paid huge fines and were otherwise treated with malice and punished.

 

Emigration seemed the only answer to those who wished to be separated from the State Church. Many also wished to emigrate for economic and social improvement. A potato blight had caused famine in many parts of Europe, including the Netherlands.

 

Scholte and his family left by steamer to arrive in America before the others so that he could visit with government officials and Dutch persons on the East. With their help he could try to decide on a location for the colony. Eight hundred others followed in four sailing vessels and docked in Baltimore, Maryland.

 

The new state of Iowa seemed to be the ideal place for the travelers and a trek began in earnest over mountains, through canals, on steamboats on rivers until they all reached St. Louis, Missouri. An exploratory group, assisted by a Baptist circuit rider, Moses J. Post, found what they considered an ideal spot and 18,000 acres were purchased by the Dutch for $1.25 an acre.

 

The land chosen for the colony was on a high ridge between the Des Moines and Skunk Rivers where many Americans had already settled. The Dutch were able to buy out many of the Americans who had started farms. The last portion of the long journey was leaving St. Louis by steamboat for Keokuk on the Mississippi River. From there it was an overland journey through small settlements along the pathways called The State Road to the area they had named Pella, a city of refuge.

 

Housing was inadequate as places that were to have been built for them were nothing more that a few piles of lumber. The innovative Dutch built houses of sod, roofed with long prairie grasses. Such houses had been known in the homeland as poor laborers built turf houses on the peat fields. The cluster of these grass-roofed lodgings was dubbed 'Strawtown'.

 

The town grew and flourished with the arrival of numerous subsequent large emigrations through the early years. The Dutch and Americans were assimilated and many others arrived and were welcomed in making Pella their home. With several large industries, well-known Central College (founded in l853), a myriad of churches, excellent schools and an ethnic pride in attractive homes, public buildings and a unique business district all enhance the Pella community. The town

attracts tourists by the thousands, and many others who see the town as an ideal place in which to live and work. Pella has maintained its religious conception and is known to be a community based on a solid Christian foundation.

 

– This article is written by Muriel Kool

 

 

PELLA AND ITS ENVIRONS

 

The City of Pella is beautifully situated on the ridge between the Skunk and Des Moines rivers, on sections 3 and 10, township 76, range 18, near the center of Lake Prairie Township. It was laid out by Walter Clement, deputy county surveyor, early in May, 1848, for Hendrick P. Scholte, and the plat was filled with the county recorder on June 6, 1848.

 

On the original plat the north and south thoroughfares are called avenues. Beginning at the east side they are: Hazel, Entrance, Inquiring, Perseverance, Reformation, Gratitude, Experience, Patience, Confidence, Expectation, Accomplishment and West End. Running east and west are the following streets: North, Columbus, Washington, Franklin; Liberty, Union, Independence, Peace and South.

 

Since the first survey of the town was made the names of several of the streets and avenues have been changed.The first plat shows 678 lots; East Market Square, bounded by Entrance, Liberty, Union and Inquiring streets and avenues; West' Market Square, bounded by Patience, Franklin, Liberty and Confidence; and Garden Square, bounded by Reformation, Gratitude, Washington and Franklin. North of Garden Square a plat of ground was left for a public park.

 

A number of additions have since been made to the city, the most important of which are: Overkamp's Southeast, October 12, 1854; De Haan's, December 4, 1854; North Pella, September 9, 1854; South Pella, November 3o, 1854; Bousquet's, November 7, 1854; De Haan's Second, May 16, 1862; Overkamp's Railroad, October 6, 1864; Ringling's, December 22, 1880, and Braam's February 13, 1912. Part of the original plat was vacated in June, 1877, upon petition of P. H. Bousquet.

 

 

FIRST SETTLERS

 

The first house in the immediate vicinity of the site of Pella was built in May, 1848, in the edge of the timber just north of the town, by Thomas Tuttle and his wife, who was his only assistant, the nearest white settlers at that time being nearly twenty miles distant. A little later this pioneer couple built a claim pen on what afterward became Garden Square. This pen stood for many years and was occupied a part of the time after the city had grown up around it.

 

Another early settler was Rev. M. J. Post, who carried the first mail over the route from Fairfield to Fort Des Moines, and whose widow kept the first house of entertainment in Pella after his death on April 2, 1848: Jacob C. Brown settled near the town site in 1844 and James Deweese came the following year.

 

The first mercantile establishment in the town was the general store of Walters & Smith, which was located near the present western limits of the city. For some time this firm had a monopoly of the trade and charged prices that customers complained were too high. Then E. F. Grafe opened a store and the truth of the old saying, "Competition is the life of trade," was soon made manifest. In 1853 Wellington Nossaman bought the hotel known as the Franklin House, and soon afterward opened a store in part of the building.

 

A postoffice had been established on Lake Prairie previously to the laying out of the town. In 1848 it was removed to Pella and H. P. Scholte was appointed postmaster.The name of the town (Pella) is derived from a Hebrew word which signifies a city of refuge. It was the name of a small town in Palestine and was chosen by the proprietor because it offered an asylum to the people of his native land.

 

 

THE HOLLAND COLONY

 

Hendrick P. Scholte, the founder of the town, was born at Amsterdam, Holland, September 25, 1805. In his boyhood he had a desire to take the course in the naval academy with a view to becoming an officer in the navy, but abandoned the idea because of his mother's opposition. In 1824 he completed the literary course in the University of Leyden, then studied theology in that institution and in 1832 was licensed to preach. The next year he was regularly ordained as a minister in the National Reform Church.

 

In 1835 a division occurred in the church, Mr. Scholte, with a number of other ministers, withdrawing from the National Church and forming a new organization. They were soon subjected to persecutions by the Synod of Holland and the government of the Netherlands. Instead of crushing the new movement this persecution added to the number of its adherents.

 

After a time the government, finding its efforts to break up the rebellion of no avail, began to relax, and upon the accession of William II to the throne the persecution entirely ceased. It has been stated by some historians that the religious intolerance shown by the National Church toward the Reformed Church during this period was the principal cause that led to such a large emigration from the Netherlands. No doubt this might have had an influence upon emigration, but there were other reasons for so many people leaving the country. In his labors as a minister Mr. Scholte came in touch with the middle and poorer classes of the people. He saw the disparity in social conditions, the difficulties the poor had to contend with in their efforts to support themselves and families, and, in connection with another minister, began the study of conditions in other countries, with a view of planting a colony somewhere, in which the inhabitants might have better opportunities.

 

They wrote a letter to the minister of colonies asking for permission to establish their colony upon the Island of Java, and for free transportation for the colonists and their belongings. But the government refused their request and they then turned their attention to America. After gathering all the information possible concerning Texas and Missouri, the former was rejected because the climate was too warm and the, latter because it was a state in which slavery existed. Iowa was the next choice and was finally selected.

 

In July, 1846, a meeting was held at Leersdam, Holland, for the purpose of organizing a colony that should be self sustaining in its operations. Nothing definite was accomplished at that meeting, but in December an organization was perfected at Utrecht by the election of H. P. Scholte, president; A. J. Betten, vice president, and Isaac Overkamp, secretary. A committee, or board, was also appointed to make arrangements for transportation and to receive members on certain conditions. This committee was composed of John Rietveld, A. Wigny, G. F. Le Cocq and G. H. Overkamp.

 

Any person of good moral character and industrious habits was eligible for membership in the colony. It was not essential that he should be a member of the church, but atheists, infidels and Roman Catholics were to be excluded. By the spring of 1847 the association numbered about thirteen hundred persons, of whom over seven hundred were prepared to go to a new home in a strange land.

 

Four sailing vessels were chartered to carry them to Baltimore. Early in April, 847, three of these ships sailed from Rotterdam and the other from Amsterdam. After a voyage of about fifty days they arrived at their destination, nine deaths and three births having occurred during the voyage.

 

At Baltimore the colonists were met by Mr. Scholte, who had come over in advance. From that city they proceeded by rail and canal boat to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where they embarked on steamboats for St. Louis. E. F. Grafe, a German resident of St. Louis, had been apprised of their coming and made preparations for their reception. A temporary camp was established just outside the city limits and here the colonists remained until August, while three of their number went forward to select a location for their permanent settlement. The three men selected for this duty were H. P. Scholte, John Rietveld and Isaac Overkamp, who departed at once for Iowa.

 

Upon reaching Fairfield the committee met Rev. M. J. Post, who was then engaged in carrying the mail from that point to Fort Des Moines, and from him learned of the beautiful prairie lying between the Skunk and Des Moines rivers, in townships 76 and 77, range 18. Being impressed with Mr. Post and his description of the region, the committee accompanied him to the place and found that it was all that he had described. Mr. Scholte, as agent and treasurer of the colony, purchased the claims of those who had already settled upon the prairie, with such live stock and farming utensils as they could be induced to sell.

 

Like the spies that Moses sent forward to inspect the Promised Land, the commissioners returned to the camp at St. Louis and made their report. Mechanics were then despatched to Marion County to erect temporary shelter for the colonists, who arrived a little later. One large shed was built in what is now the western part of the city, in which a number of families took up their residence until better habitations could be constructed.

 

Some found shelter in the cabins upon the claims purchased of the first settlers, and others erected sod houses, which were roofed with the tall grass that grew along the sloughs. Usually an excavation of two or three feet in depth was made, around which would be built the wall of sod, often not more than two or three feet high. These nondescript structures were built in and around the present City of Pella, without regard to regularity, and presented a peculiar spectacle.

 

Donnel tells the following amusing story concerning one of these sod houses: "One night some cattle happened to be grazing in the neighborhood of one of these sod houses, and it also happened that, as grazing was not abundant, one of the oxen went prospecting about for something better. Seeing the house he evidently mistook it for a small haystack and 'went for it.' Finding the coarse, dry grass not so very good, he got upon it with his fore feet in search of better food, when the weak structure gave way beneath his weight and let him plunge headlong into the regions below. The family were asleep until the crash came and awakened them to bewildered consciousness of some awful calamity befalling them, and their exclamations of fright added terror to the already terrified beast, and he made his exit by the door with all practicable speed, probably resolving, ox fashion, for ever more to keep clear of such haystacks. Fortunately no one was hurt, and no serious damage was done, except to the house."

 

Some of the Hollanders lived in their sod house for two winters before they were able to provide themselves with better habitations. These houses would keep out the cold, but in wet seasons the occupants experienced much discomfort through the leaking of the grass roofs and the water seeping up through the earthen floor. Sometimes the water would rise to such a height that it was necessary to bail out or move.

 

Notwithstanding all the drawbacks, these people persisted in their efforts until they developed the resources of the country and built up a city that is a credit to themselves and an honor to the state.Mr. Scholte occupied the claim pen built by Thomas Tuttle until he could erect a better place of residence. The house built by him in 1848, about the time the city was laid out, is still standing and is occupied as a dwelling. It faces the public square and is remarkably well preserved, although it is one of the oldest houses in the county.

 

The iron chest, or strong box, in which the money of the colonists was brought over from the Netherlands, is still preserved in the Pella National Bank. It was made by hand by Dutch blacksmiths in the old country and is an ingenious piece of work. In the front of the box is a keyhole, into which the great iron key fits perfectly, but upon turning the key the box fails to unlock. That keyhole is a "blind," the real one being in the center of the lid, concealed by what appears to be the head of one of the large rivets. A smart tap on the side of this rivet head caused it to turn on a pivot, revealing the true keyhole. One turn of the key moves eight bolts, three on each side and one at each end, that fit in sockets in the wall of the chest. This old box is one of the highly prized historic relics of Marion County.

 

THE FIRST DECADE

 

Before a decade of settlement had passed for the Dutch, they and the American settlers who were here first had assimilated. There were three churches: Baptist, Methodist, and Christian. There was one newspaper, the Pella Gazette, edited by Scholte and an American, Edwin Grant. Americans owned the hotels.

There were three doctors, one of them Dutch. Two druggists served the town, one Dutch and one American. Nine of the fourteen stores and four of the seven blacksmith shops were Dutch-owned.

 

Germans monopolized the hardware business. There were two dray-wagon makers, three coopers, several wooden shoe makers and legions of carpenters. Three sawmills were built in the town, as well as two corn mills. There were two brick kilns and two lime kilns. Some of these were owned by the Dutch, some by the Americans or immigrants from other countries.

 

Schools were built and Central College was founded by the Baptists in 1853 when Dominie Scholte gave them 160 acres of land. The town was a thriving little place well on its way to becoming what it was later called, the “Garden City.”

 

 

PELLA INCORPORATED

 

In the spring of 1855 the people of Pella took the necessary steps to have the town incorporated. An election was held and 135 votes were cast in favor of incorporation to 22 votes against the proposition. The official records pertaining to the matter show that "The county judge fixed upon the 9th day of July, 1855, as the time, and the said town of Pella as the place, of holding an election to choose three persons to prepare a charter, or articles of incorporation for the said City or Town of Pella."

P. Pravendright, H. C. Huntsman and Isaac Overkamp were elected to prepare the charter, which was ordered by the County Court to be submitted to the voters at an election to be held on August 20, 1855. At that election E. F. Grafe, A. van Stigt and W. J. Ellis served as judges, and H. Hospers and Isaac Overkamp, as clerks. The charter was adopted by a substantial majority and the first election for municipal officers was ordered to be held on Monday, September 10, 1855, when W. J. Ellis was elected mayor; G. Boekenoongen, recorder; Isaac Overkamp, treasurer; A. Stoutenburg, marshal; T. Rosborough, M. A. Clark, J. E. Strong, H. Hospers, J. Berkhout and O. McDowell, aldermen.

Following is a list of the mayors of Pella from the time the city was incorporated, with the year in which each entered upon the duties of the office: W. J. Ellis, 1855; R. G. Hamilton, 1857; Isaac Overkamp, 1858; John Nollen, 1860; William Fisher, 1864; H. Hospers, 1867; H. M. McCully, 1871; H. Neyenesch, 1874; E. F. Grafe, 1875; H. Neyenesch, 1876; H. M. McCully, 1878; N. J. Gesman, Sr., 1882; H. Kuyper, 1883; G. Van Vliet, 1887; H. Kuyper, 1889; G. Van Vliet, 1891; T. J. Edmand, 1895; G. Van Vliet, 1897; J. H. Stubenrauch, appointed in 1900 and elected in 1901; D. S. Huber, 1903; W. L. Allen, 1905; S. G. Vander Zyl, appointed in 1906 to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Mayor Allen, and elected for a full term in 1907; N. J. Gesman, Jr., 1909; H. J. Van den Berg, appointed by the council in 1911 to fill the unexpired term of Mayor Gesman, who resigned; H. J. Johnson, 1913.

In 1870 the city surrendered its old charter and was reorganized under the general law of the state relating to incorporated cities. Prior to 1887 mayors were elected annually. In the above list, where the difference in dates represents a period of more than one year during this time it indicates that the mayor served one or more terms, as in the case of John Nollen, who served four successive terms. In 1887 a change was made by which mayors and other city officers are elected biennially.