Page 138 - Poat_to_Poot_Engels

PUBLISHED IN PELLA

Pella, Iowa has always been a classic example of a picturesque small
American town. Spreading green fields of grain, corn, and pasture,
encircle a tidy and very clean little town. The white houses, brick
businesses, and spired churches look like a blend of historic Holland and
classic Americana. At the center is a town square and bandstand,
surrounded by mainly Dutch businesses and churches. In 1900 the town
held about 4,500 people and surrounding Marion County had 24,000
residents. The town possessed one claim to fame; it was the boyhood
home of Wyatt Earp, the famous gunfighting Marshall of Dodge City,
Kansas and Tombstone, Arizona.

Pella is located in south-central Iowa, 300 miles west of Chicago. It is in
the Lake Prairie Township of Marion County. The county seat of Knoxville
is 12 miles southwest, on the other side of the Des Moines River. The
major city of Des Moines is 30 miles northwest. The surrounding prairie
has rich soil and a good supply of coal and clay. The important Des Moines
River is 4 miles to the southwest. The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific
Rail Road Co. (CRI & PRR) provided railroad service for the area. There was
no electricity yet. The municipal electric service was not operational until
1911.

Although small in size, Pella held a giant stature among Dutch-Americans.
Pella, Iowa and the Holland-Grand Rapids area of Michigan served as the
two main centers for Dutch-American religious debate and political
influence. The religious and secular publications of Pella were widely
distributed wherever Dutch-Americans lived.

Pella was created by the selfless and energetic efforts of Dominee
Hendrick Scholte during the great Dutch religious migration of 1847. He
came to America before his followers and scouted the American
countryside for the best place to build a settlement. Then he bought
18,000 acres of land. Using his personal wealth and donations, he
established a town for 800 followers to settle in. He also welcomed other
Protestants to come, but warned "atheists, infidels and Roman Catholics"
to stay away!

What brought Rev. J.W. Poot to Pella was a crisis at the Fourth Reformed
Church. This was related to other religious conflicts that had troubled
Pella for many years. Some of the troubles had their start in the personal
theology of Reverend Henry (Hendrick) Scholte. He was a devout
Protestant Christian ordained in the Reformed Church in the Netherlands.
When King Willem nationalized the Dutch Reformed Church, it led to a
secularized church with diminished religious values. In 1834 this
triggered the first major split of the Dutch Reformed Church. Reverends

(11-2006) - Published in Pella - page 1 -