Early History of the Dutch in Douglas and Charles Mix Counties, SD This history of the Dutch in South Dakota appears in Chapter LXXXVIII of "History of South Dakota" by Doane Robinson, Vol. I (1904), pages 509-511 and was scanned, OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net. This file may be freely copied by individuals and non-profit organizations for their private use. Any other use, including publication, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission by electronic, mechanical, or other means requires the written approval of the file's author. This file is part of the SDGENWEB Archives. If you arrived here inside a frame or from a link from somewhere else, our front door is at http://www.usgwarchives.net/sd/sdfiles.htm CHAPTER LXXXVIII HISTORY OF THE HOLLAND COLONY IN DOUGLAS AND CHARLES MIX COUNTIES. BY REV. HENRY STRAKS, HARRISON, S. D. It is known that during the early history of our land the Dutch came in great numbers to our eastern shores, and settled in the middle Atlantic states and prospered there. When the English language became the language of the court and had to be taught in our schools the Dutch language gradually became obsolete. In the years 1840 to 1860 another stream of emigrants from the same source sought to benefit themselves by the opportunities this country so richly offered, and they settled in many states west of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and Buffalo, New York. Whole churches, pastor, elders and people, settled in the chosen locations; among others, western Michigan, northeastern Illinois and southern Iowa. In 1870 these settlements, becoming crowded, poured out their surplus settlers into northwestern Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska. At first they suffered discouragements, not only such as are usual in new settlements, but the grasshoppers robbed the fields, luxuriant with acres of the finest crops, for two or three years in succession; but soon the country was rid of these pests and the land became valuable for agricultural purposes. In a short time the land was all taken up and raised rapidly in price, so that, as early as 1881, many settlers having large families and lacking means to purchase the high-priced farms, began to look for cheaper land farther west. In said year a mass meeting was held at Orange City, Iowa, of all the people interested in migrating to regions more congenial for our meager purses. A committee was appointed to reconnoiter and look up a suitable location in the great territory of Dakota, consisting of Hon. Frank Le Cocq, Jr., Mr. Leendert Van der Meer and Mr. Dirk Van der Bos. This committee started out overland, with teams, and finally halting in Douglas and Charles Mix counties, South Dakota, decided to locate in western Douglas county at a place now called Harrison. About the same time Mr. A. H. Kuyper and his son came direct from Holland to Charles Mix county and settled near the present town of Platte. They labored hard and successfully in bringing over many emigrants from their native country to the prairies of said county. The greater majority of these had barely means sufficient to pay their transportation to this land of ours. A few of them were able to purchase a yoke of oxen and a breaking outfit, with which to turn sod on their claims obtained from the government. Many of these, however, had to be aided for years by Mr. Kuyper and his son, now in business at Platte, South Dakota. This Holland colony has rapidly and steadily increased in population and in wealth. Notwithstanding the fact that many of the settlers abandoned their farms and left for regions farther east to work rented land in older settlements, where, however, the great majority are still paying high rentals with no prospect of ever living to see the day that they become freeholders. They left here on account of the stringency, caused by the failure of crops during the years 1892-1895, resulting from severe droughts. Many did not know that various sections of new country in Iowa had suffered similar drawbacks where today droughts are rarely experienced. Today the above named colony numbers about five hundred people, mostly well off, who speak the Dutch tongue wholly or in part. When the settlers of Douglas county arrived here they found in the center of the county a settlement known as the Brownsdale settlement. These had taken matters into their own hands and had set out to rob the county by reporting a pretended county organization to the territorial government and issuing and selling bonds. A certain Walter H. Brown was making successful efforts to settle a large indebtedness upon the county by issuing county warrants. They had also proceeded to divide up the county into school districts and had issued bonds on the several districts for thousands of dollars. For some reason or other they had left out of these districts, so divided, the four western townships of Douglas county. In order to get outside of the regions so bounded the Holland settlers settled beyond these borders in said four western townships of said county. These bonds caused the county much trouble. Much money had to be spent to resist the payment of these bonds. After persistent effort these bogus bonds were finally declared void by the higher courts. So the swindle failed and we were glad. In 1882 the territorial legislature declared the Brownsdale organization fraudulent and void, authorizing the governor to cause a reorganization of the county to be made. Accordingly this was followed by a complete organization, and the election of a full set of legal officers. Among others Hon. Frank Le Cocq, who also was a member of the first legislature of this state, was elected a member of the county board. The center of this Holland settlement was Harrison, now a village of about two hundred inhabitants. It was so named in honor of Senator Harrison, who introduced the first bill into the United States senate to divide the territory and to admit the south half as the state of South Dakota. The first postoffice in the settlement was at this village, being on the military route from Plankinton to Fort Randall, with Peter Eernisso as postmaster. The whole tract of these four west townships was almost entirely settled upon by Holland settlers. At present they number about one thousand five hundred people who use the Dutch language wholly or in part. In later years this settlement was still more extended by a number of families from the eastern states, as well as from the mother country, settling at Grandview, near Armour, then the county seat. They number about three hundred and fifty souls, also using the same tongue. In the fall of 1882 these settlers concluded that they needed, first of all, a church. A Sunday school was accordingly organized and a provisional church building was erected of the customary building material--rough boards and sod. Here services were regularly held on Sundays and during the week. This building also did good service as a public-school building. Miss Sophia Le Cocq, now Mrs. L. Markus, was the first instructor. The first general merchandise store was put up by Messrs. P. Eernisse and L. Van der Meer, and Mr. L. Markus had a blacksmith shop. Many a breaking plow did he repair for our pioneer farmers. Hon. Frank Le Cocq put up a land office (without which no modern western town is complete), and sold many of the settlers their selections. Soon H. Vis came to us from Orange City, Iowa, with a full line of drugs and medicines, thus providing for the emergency of colds and fevers. Mr. Garret Van der Linden built a hotel where, in the pioneer days, Major Sharp, the paymaster of Fort Randall, often bivouacked for the night, after a hard day's ride in a four-mule ambulance. With the cash wagon without and the howling of the prairie wolf in various directions, and a hotel with crevices between the boards large enough to serve as port holes, and one or two soldiers sitting up all night at his bedside, with rifles in hand, the outfit was an ideal of completeness, making the place attractive and safe also for land seekers with pockets full of money, sleeping with one eye open in every nook and corner of the twelve-by-twenty "Waldorf Astoria." Of course the lonely pioneer settlers did all they could to induce their relatives to hasten on to this land of prospective prosperity, and during the year 1883 the land was all taken up so that nothing but school sections remained unoccupied. The people were all doing well and were highly pleased. Churches and schools were built; dug-outs and sod houses were abandoned for more convenient dwellings. In 1884 the Reformed church of Harrison was organized and the services of the candidate, Abraham Stegeman, were secured. He served them very acceptably till 1892. During his incumbency a church and parsonage, costing about five thousand dollars, were built by the aid of the Board of Domestic Missions of the Reformed Church in America. At about the same time the people of Grandview, under the leadership of Rev. F. J. Zwemer, also built a suitable church and parsonage. Shortly after this the Christian Reformed people built a church at Harrison and one at New Holland, four miles west. The first ministers of these churches were, respectively, Revs. T. M. Van der Bosch and H. Temple. But now sad times waited the people of these settlements. With the people all over the state of South Dakota, they shared in the hard times caused by a failure of crops for three consecutive years. Nearly every western colony has had discouragements to contend with and those who "stood the storm" and braved the drawbacks and remained on their claims were the wisest after all. Nevertheless many of the settlers became discouraged and returned back east, where they are today paying high rents and repenting for their not staying here. Those who stayed are today well-to-do freeholders, owning large herds of cattle, with tubular or artesian wells to supply abundant water of the purest quality; organs, pianos and lots of work for music teachers; carriages and all sorts of improved farm machinery; homes of the modern type, well furnished,-a wonderful progress in so short a time! When we write this history we are not accounting for many other Holland colonies in the state, all alike or even more prosperous, as, for instance, in the following counties: Bon Homme, Brookings, Campbell, Deuel, Grant, Hamlin and Turner. Today we enjoy the privileges of higher instruction for our children in our own town. A classical academy has a good start and is doing work that will tell on the future generations of our state and country. People living in South Dakota have reason to be grateful and to take pride in a state that affords such splendid advantages. Great is our responsibility to our country and to our Father in heaven to make the proper use of all the splendid opportunities offered us, for material, mental and spiritual progress.