Between 1865-1868, Jacob Kuyper published a series of atlases with municipal maps. These show the location of all the hamlets, villages, and larger towns in the municipality, as well as the main roads and railroads. The Kuyper maps are often available at the websites of archives or via Wikimedia Commons.
This week we are looking at Veendam, a municipality in Groningen. “Veendam” means “peat dam.” The thin rectilinear plots reflects its peat mining history. The area was known for shipbuilding. We see several wharfs (“scheepswerf”) along the canal. The municipality also had different brick factories (“steenfabriek”).
Map of Veendam, circa 1868. Credits: Jacob Kuyper, via Wikimedia Commons (public domain)
About Yvette Hoitink
