Foxhol is a village in the
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
province of
Groningen
Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...
. It is part of the municipality of
Midden-Groningen
Midden-Groningen (Gronings dialect, Gronings: ''Midden-Grunnen'') is a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality with a population of 60,953 in the province of Groningen (province), Groningen, Netherlands. The municipality was forme ...
. In 1842, the
potato starch
Potato starch is starch extracted from potatoes. The cells of the root tubers of the potato plant contain leucoplasts (starch grains). To extract the starch, the potatoes are crushed, and the starch grains are released from the destroyed cells. Th ...
factory Eureka was founded in Foxhol by
Willem Albert Scholten
Willem Albert Scholten (6 October 1819 – 1 May 1895) was a Dutch industrialist and landowner. He established the potato starch factory Eureka in Foxhol which laid the foundation of an industrial empire. Scholten would own 24 factories in Europe ...
. Foxhol became an industrial area with factories and shipyards. The village is nowadays part of the urban area of
Hoogezand
Hoogezand is a town in the municipality of Midden-Groningen, in the province of Groningen in northeast Netherlands.
History
The name refers to a higher sanded ''(Hooge Sandt)'' place in the peatlands cut through when the Winschoterdiep channe ...
.
History
The name means fox hole. It is sometimes explained as relating to
Nittert Fox
Nittert Fox, also known as Neithart Fuchs (killed at Foxhol 22 July 1499) was a Saxon knight and military commander.
According to his hatchment, Fox came from an influential family from Franconia (Germany).
As a military commander he became invo ...
, a Saxon knight who was killed in 1499 at Foxhol, however the village was first mentioned in 1460 as Vossehol.
Foxhol is located next to the , a large lake. The earliest inhabitants were fishermen and hunters.
In 1594, the city of the
Groningen
Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...
started to exploit the
peat
Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...
in the area around Foxhol.
In 1612, a canal was dug which would later become the
Winschoterdiep
The Winschoterdiep () is a canal in the province Groningen of the Netherlands. It leads to the Rensel, which is actually part of this canal. Construction was started in 1618 and finished in 1634. The Winschoterdiep's total length is 35.5 kilo ...
.
In 1840, the population of Foxhol and neighbouring was 395 people.
In 1868, the
Kropswolde railway station
Kropswolde (; abbreviation: Kw) is an unstaffed railway station in Foxhol near Kropswolde in the Netherlands. The station was opened on 1 May 1868 and is located on the Harlingen–Nieuweschans railway between Groningen Europapark and Marte ...
was opened on the
Harlingen–Nieuweschans railway
The Harlingen–Nieuweschans railway is a railway line in the Netherlands running from the port of Harlingen to Bad Nieuweschans, passing through Leeuwarden and Groningen. The line was opened between 1863 and 1868. It is also known as the ''Staa ...
. Even though it is named after
Kropswolde
Kropswolde () is a village in the Netherlands, Dutch province of Groningen (province), Groningen. It is located in the municipality of Midden-Groningen, about 3 km southwest of the town of Hoogezand and 5 km northeast of the town of Zuidlaren ...
, it is located in Foxhol.
Industry
Willem Albert Scholten
Willem Albert Scholten (6 October 1819 – 1 May 1895) was a Dutch industrialist and landowner. He established the potato starch factory Eureka in Foxhol which laid the foundation of an industrial empire. Scholten would own 24 factories in Europe ...
wanted to establish a paint and coatings factory. He went to Germany to study the industry, and discovered that they used
potato starch
Potato starch is starch extracted from potatoes. The cells of the root tubers of the potato plant contain leucoplasts (starch grains). To extract the starch, the potatoes are crushed, and the starch grains are released from the destroyed cells. Th ...
in their dyes. Scholten became fascinated with the numerous potential uses of starch. The main problem was the transportation costs of the potatoes. In 1842, the Eureka factory was opened in Foxhol, because it was close to the potato fields, near a lake with clean water, and well connected to the outside world.
Eureka was very successful, and Scholten would end up owning 24 factories across Europe, and was one of the founders of the Nederlandsch-Amerikaansche Stoomvaart-Maatschappij which became later known as the
Holland America Line
Holland America Line is an American-owned cruise line, a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States.
Holland America Line was founded in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and from 1873 to 1989, it operated ...
.
The potato starch factory attracted other industry and shipyards to Foxhol.
During World War II, exports had stopped and there was a shortage of fuel and supplies. Frederik André Möller worked in the laboratory of Eureka and had tried to develop an instant
breakfast cereal
Cereal, formally termed breakfast cereal (and further categorized as cold cereal or warm cereal), is a traditional breakfast food made from processed cereal grains. It is traditionally eaten as part of breakfast, or a snack food, primarily in ...
, due to the popularity of
corn flakes
Corn flakes, or cornflakes, are a breakfast cereal made from toasting flakes of corn (maize). The cereal, originally made with wheat, was created by Will Kellogg in 1894 for patients at the Battle Creek Sanitarium where he worked with his broth ...
in the United States. The first attempts with potato starch failed, but it could be made with
wheat
Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...
. In 1943, the factory opened in Foxhol. It was a cheap
surrogate
A surrogate is a substitute or deputy for another person in a specific role and may refer to:
Relationships
* Surrogacy, an arrangement where a woman agrees to carry and give birth to a child for another person who will become its parent at bi ...
product, therefore, after World War II, an extensive publicity campaign started to propagate Brinta. In 2006, Brinta was bought by
Heinz
The H. J. Heinz Company is an American food processing company headquartered at One PPG Place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company was founded by Henry J. Heinz in 1869. Heinz manufactures thousands of food products in plants on six conti ...
who moved to factory to
Nijmegen
Nijmegen (;; Spanish and it, Nimega. Nijmeegs: ''Nimwèège'' ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and tenth largest of the Netherlands as a whole, located on the Waal river close to the German border. It is about 6 ...
. The potato starch factory is nowadays owned by
Royal Avebe.
South Moluccans
In 1949,
Indonesia became independent, and the
Royal Netherlands East Indies Army
The Royal Netherlands East Indies Army ( nl, Koninklijk Nederlands Indisch Leger; KNIL, ) was the military force maintained by the Kingdom of the Netherlands in its colony of the Dutch East Indies, in areas that are now part of Indonesia. The ...
was disbanded. The islands of
Ambon
Ambon may refer to:
Places
* Ambon Island, an island in Indonesia
** Ambon, Maluku, a city on Ambon Island, the capital of Maluku province
** Governorate of Ambon, a colony of the Dutch East India Company from 1605 to 1796
* Ambon, Morbihan, a c ...
,
Buru
Buru (formerly spelled Boeroe, Boro, or Bouru) is the third largest island within the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. It lies between the Banda Sea to the south and Seram Sea to the north, west of Ambon and Seram islands. The island belongs to Ma ...
, and
Seram
Seram (formerly spelled Ceram; also Seran or Serang) is the largest and main island of Maluku province of Indonesia, despite Ambon Island's historical importance. It is located just north of the smaller Ambon Island and a few other adjacent is ...
had fought on side of the Netherlands. They were opposed to a
Java
Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...
-dominated Indonesia, and proclaimed the
Republic of South Maluku
South Maluku, also South Moluccas, officially the Republic of South Maluku, was an unrecognised secessionist republic that claimed the islands of Ambon, Buru, and Seram, which make up the Indonesian province of Maluku.
Dutch conquest exerte ...
which resulted in an attack by Indonesia. In 1951, 12,000 refugees from South Maluku were temporarily resettled in the Netherlands.
In September 1953,
a group of refugees was placed in barracks at .
The 311 people at Coenraadpolder were members of CRAMS, a resistance organisation which aimed to liberate South Maluku.
On 14 December 1961, a new neighbourhood had been constructed in Foxhol for the Moluccans. A group of 129 people refused to leave the barracks, because accepting the houses would imply accepting permanent exile.
On the dawn of 21 December,
the barracks were raided by the police, and the people were forcibly moved to Foxhol. In 1965, the Maranatha church was built in Foxhol by the Moluccans.
Recent history
Foxhol has become a single urban area with
Hoogezand
Hoogezand is a town in the municipality of Midden-Groningen, in the province of Groningen in northeast Netherlands.
History
The name refers to a higher sanded ''(Hooge Sandt)'' place in the peatlands cut through when the Winschoterdiep channe ...
. Retail has disappeared from the village, and the centre has been redeveloped in 2010.
The Maranatha church was replaced by the Petrus Church in 1995.
Most of the Moluccan community has moved on, and in 2009, there were an estimated 10 to 15 families still living in Foxhol.
Foxhol is still predominantly an industrial area.
References
{{Authority control
Populated places in Groningen (province)
Midden-Groningen