Heritage Trail #23 Traditional Cache

Allegan County Heritage Trail Tour

The Allegan County Tourist Council has developed a self-guided tour so that people can discover and have adventures into the history, sights and sounds of Allegan County.  This tour will allow people to see historic villages and towns as well as bountiful farmlands and orchards which were and still are the backbone of this rural county.  More information on the Heritage Trail Tour can be found at www.allegancounty.org/heritagetrail/.  This tour has numerous stops, but it is not necessary to do them in order, they can be completed in any order.

We plan to place caches at each historic stop along this tour.  Our goal with this series is to have fun, but also to enjoy the beautiful sites of Allegan County.  We also hope that we can bring some history of the area to people who are interested.  Now let’s get on with our journey.

Dutch Heritage Farms and Homes

The northern section of the tour will take you through mile after mile of beautiful rolling farmland, dotted with picturesque historic barns and homes.  But when the Dutch settlers first came here in the mid-1800’s, this land was densely forested with beech and maple trees.  These early farmers had to clear the land of all the trees, and their stumps, before they could start farming.

As you are driving, be on the lookout for the different looking Veneklasen brick farmhouses.  Veneklasen was a Dutch brick maker.  Because of the different types of soil he worked with, he produced both a red and a yellow color brick.  Typically, the yellow brick was used for decorative work around the windows and under the eaves.

The Dutch immigrants who settled the northwest corner of Allegan County were different from the other early settlers of the county in two ways.  They were immigrants from a foreign country, not merely resettling from somewhere else in the United States.  More importantly, they came as part of religious communities.

In 1847, seventy Dutch-speaking German Calvinist from a small village on the Netherlands/German border left their home village and migrated to the United States, settling the town of Graafschap.  In 1848, an entire religious community left the Village of Hellendoorn, in the province of Overijsel in the Netherlands and settled the town of Overisel.  Other groups followed.  These settlers were conservative religious Separatists who were fleeing persecution, much like the Puritans who founded Massachusetts, as well as seeking a better economic life.  They were drawn here by the Dutch religious community in Holland as well as the fertile clay soil in this part of the county and an ample and cheap supply of lumber for shelter and fuel.

Driving along this part of the tour route, you will pass several good examples of Dutch barns.  Long sloping roofs are very distinctive of these Dutch barns.

You are looking for a small lock-n-lock container.  Since this "stop" on the Heritage Trail Tour is a drive-by, we placed the container somewhere along this part of the drive.  As you are driving to the phsycal cache, don't forget to look at the barns along the way.  Have Fun!