Neerlandia is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

central Alberta Central Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta. Central Alberta is the most densely populated rural area in the province. Agriculture and energy are important to the area's economy. Geography Central Alberta is bordered ...

, Canada within the County of Barrhead No. 11. Neerlandia is situated at the intersection of Highway 769 and Township Road 615A between Mellowdale and

Vega Vega is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Lyra. It has the Bayer designation α Lyrae, which is Latinised to Alpha Lyrae and abbreviated Alpha Lyr or α Lyr. This star is relatively close at only from the Sun, a ...

, approximately 20 kilometers north of

Barrhead Barrhead ( sco, Baurheid, gd, Ceann a' Bharra) is a town in East Renfrewshire, Scotland, southwest of Glasgow city centre on the edge of the Gleniffer Braes. At the 2011 census its population was 17,268. History Barrhead was formed when ...

and northwest of

Westlock Westlock is a town in central Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1913, the town is primarily an agricultural, business, and government administration centre serving communities and rural areas within surrounding Westlock County. Geography Westlock ...

. Neerlandia was founded by

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 ...

immigrants beginning in 1911. The name "Neerlandia" refers to the first settlers' country of origin, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. The surrounding area is largely agricultural based with many people in the outlying area also being involved in construction and other trades as well.

History

In January 1911, Henry Kippers began a Dutch Colonization society with the goal to create a Dutch Farming community. The community formation began on December 18, 1911 with 16 men filling for land permits at the Dominion of Lands Office in Edmonton, Alberta. These men were John Anema, Rients de Jager, Drikus Huinink, Cornelius Ingwersen, Albert M. Mast, Johan Messelink, Henry J. Micheal, Menne Nanninga, Albert J. Oldegbers, Hendrik Schoonekamp, Berend te Ronde, Douwe Terpsma, John Terpsma, Siebren Tiemstra and Willem van Ark. This was followed by Fred Baron and Henry J. Kippers on December 26, 1911 and finally Arie Emmerzael on February 6, 1912.

Demographics

Neerlandia recorded a population of 101 in the 1991 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada.

Services and amenities

The Hamlet of Neerlandia has four churches (

Christian Reformed Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

United Reformed The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2022 it has approximately 40,000 members in 1,284 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers. Origins and history The United Reformed Church resulte ...

and two

Canadian Reformed The 'Canadian and American Reformed Churches'' (CanRC) is a federation of Protestant churches in Canada and the United States, with historical roots in the Reformed Churches of the Netherlands. It emphasizes the importance of adherence to Biblica ...

), a grocery store, a farm and building centre, a self-serve gas station, a restaurant and two schools, th
Neerlandia Public Christian School
which is now in a brand new building, and the

Covenant Canadian Reformed School Covenant Canadian Reformed School is a K-12 private Christian school in Neerlandia, Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alb ...

. The public school also houses the public library and has a tennis court and a baseball diamond. The ice rink beside the public school was demolished to make room for the new school and a new ice rink has been constructed across the road from the school. Neerlandia is southeast of the Fort Assiniboine Sandhills Wildland Provincial Park in

Woodlands County Woodlands County is a municipal district in north-central Alberta, Canada. Located in Census Division No. 13, its municipal office is located outside but adjacent to the Town of Whitecourt. A second municipal office is located in the Hamlet ...

, which is accessible via Highway 769 and Highway 661. The park and surrounding area is a popular camping, snowmobiling, quadding, trailriding and hunting destination.

References

{{Alberta, hamlets=yes County of Barrhead No. 11 Hamlets in Alberta Dutch-Canadian culture

History

Demographics

Services and amenities

Further reading

See also

References