CATCHING UP - SCHOLTE HOUSE MUSEUM AND GARDENS IN PELLA IOWA

Prior Lake MN (Low 61 Periods of Rain High 69)


Catching up on our recent stay in Kellogg Iowa when we went to Pella to visit friends and see the sights.

The Scholte House, built in the winter and spring of 1847-1848, was the fulfillment of a promise Hendrik Scholte made to his wife Mareah to alleviate her homesickness and disappointment. He had promised to build her a house with all the comforts of the home she had left in The Netherlands.



The Scholte's left the Netherlands with 70 other families for religious freedom that could be found in the United States and because of the potato famine of the 1840s.  Hendrik Scholte was a Dominie (Pastor) and started his own church in Pella and is considered the founder of the town as well. 

A couple of interesting things about this house it that it remains pretty much as it was in Pella’s early days, and a Scholte descendant occupied this house from 1848 until 1987. The museum’s Director now lives in the home’s east wing.

Since this was the house of the leader of the effort to move to Iowa this treasured house contains much of the earliest history of the colonization (de kolonie in Dutch). 

Although the rest of the house has been restored and redecorated, the library has miraculously survived with its original furnishings.   Carpets, wallpaper, and ceiling paper date back to the mid 1850s. Here is the library.

Here is the carpet underneath other carpets under the table.

Here is the wallpaper on the ceiling.

The following photos are from our tour of the house.

There were a lot of paintings in such a big house but this one caught our eye.

The Gardens surrounding the house are amazing and worth a leisurely stroll. Some of the many tulip photos we took were from this garden.

If you ever get the chance to visit Pella allow a lot of time to visit all the sites, it is truly an extraordinary town.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo