In colonial times, the Delaware was known as the Zuid Rivier (South River). This is the oldest colonized area in the U.S. At the beginning of the seventeenth century, when this area was referred to as Nieuw Nederlandt (New Netherland), Dutch colonists not only settled on the banks of the Hudson river, but also to the banks of the Delaware river. So there must be roots here...
Overhere, we head south. This is a narrow road, following an even narrower railroad track along the meandering river. On the trees signs are posted, saying we are not allowed to hunt. There are no visible town limits, so almost unnoticed we enter the fertile grounds of Holland, Hunterdon County, New Jersey. Then there is the sign "Founded in 1874": we officially are in Holland, home of the Dutch Windmill.
We try to find something reminiscent of a city center but can't find anything close. There's a crossroad with several churches, and behind the Presbyterian Church (AD 1849) is a small cemetary where lots of Vanderbilts, Nijkampen and Snijders are buried. Most were born between 1825 and 1869.
The Dutch Windmill, with adjecent Vollendam Windmill Museum (indeed, time has added an 'l'), is the attraction of Holland, Hunterdon. It is not difficult to find the mill, because all the roads in Holland lead straight to it and there are signs everywhere. Only, the windmill is closed when we arrive. So is the museum. We press our noses flat against the museum window: a lot of wooden shoes and Delftware with Dutch landscapes and matching rivers.
The windmill was completed in 1965 and built by the late Dane Poul Jorgensen. How did a Dane get the idea to build a Dutch windmill? There's no anwer, because nobody's home in the building next to the mill. We try the front door and the backdoor but nobody answers. And that was the same all over Holland, Hunterdon County.
Not
untill much later we'll hear the full story about Jorgensen, who after
retiring in the mid-sixties decided to dedicate himself for the rest of
his lift to his dream of building a windmill. Poul had worked in Europe
as a shipbuilder and, while in the Netherlands, had become fascinated by
the ingenious Dutch windmills. He went back to Europe to study the technical
background of the windmill and made a twenty-year plan to build a windmill
that would be technically perfect. The grain mill in Holland, Hunterdon,
built completely and solely by the old Poul Jorgenson himself, really functions.