Pella History / Scholte House Guide Lesson Plan

Pella Historical Review Section I-6

De Kolonie (The Colony)
The Journey

Scholte's group chose the prairies of Iowa over the forests of Michigan for many different reasons. After months of preparation the group set sail in early April 1847. The Scholte family sailed on a steamship, called the Caldonia, and arrived in Boston after a thirteen day voyage. The other members of the colony chartered four masted sailing vessels: the Nagasaki, Pieter Floris, Catharina Jackson, and Maastroom. Between 800 and 900 people, including 160 families and many single people, sailed early in April and arrived in Baltimore in late May and early June. While they were at sea two adults and eight children died, mostly due to a violent storm. Six babies were born en route. With the supplies they packed, each family had their own food supply and they took turns cooking over two crude stoves. These ships were traditionally very dirty on the lower decks where the immigrants traveled, but these four ships were an exception. The Dutch women, always known for their cleanliness, began to clean these ships immediately. In Baltimore they passed quickly through inspection due to the cleanliness of the ship. Once in America they began their journey by train and canal boat through Pennsylvania, portaged the Allegheny Mountains, and took steamboats on the Ohio River to the Mississippi River. On the Mississippi, they took steamers to St. Louis. While most of the colony settled temporarily in St. Louis, a small group led by Dominie Scholte set out to find a suitable place for settlement. In Fairfield, Iowa, the group met Rev. Moses Post, a Baptist Circuit minister who suggested an area between the Skunk and Des Moines Rivers in Marion County. The land still belonged to the government, but several American settlers had already claimed the land. The group was able to purchase 18,000 acres of fertile farm land for about $1.25 an acre. The committee instructed a few Americans to build fifty log cabins before the Dutch settlers arrived. They returned to St. Louis anxious to tell the other colonists about their new home, Pella. The name Pella meaning "city of refuge" had been chosen in Holland. The trek from St. Louis began with a steamboat trip to Keokuk and proceeded on the Old Dragoon Trail (Des Moines River Valley Trail.) Travel was made by wagon, horse or on foot.	The Maastroom
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