The 1906 Pella Webster School Clock
Written by Jim Emmert, submitted through Jennifer Van Kooten, Executive Director Pella Preservation Trust When the original Webster School was vacated and torn down in 1952, one of the teachers…
Bringing the lampshade home, an Update On the Waechter – Boardwalk House 2022
By Jennifer Van Kooten, Executive Director Pella Preservation Trust Jennifer Van Kooten and Mikol Sesker, and the Whitaker Lamp Shade On our way back from Pierce's Pumpkin patch, we stopped…
The Tulip Tower, or “Tulp Toren”
The current Tulip Tower as it appeared during its first Tulip Time in 1968. The Historic Pella Trust's mission statement: To protect and promote buildings, landscapes, and sites important to…
Remembering Pella’s Avid Preservationist; Stu Kuyper, 1921-1980
By, Bruce Boertje Stu Kuyper, 1921-1980. Pella's greatest proponent. Stu Kuyper, age 58, passed away forty years ago, on July 5, 1980. As a community Pella still reels from his…
History of the Hose Tower at the Original Pella Fire Station
Recently the hose tower of Pella’s original fire station has been under discussion as it is in need of major repair. The story of the hose tower and original fire…
Herman Rietveld’s Dog Statues
By Bruce Boertje Waaksaamheid, the watcher Vertrouwheid, the sleeper WE GET QUESTIONS. Re: The Dog Statues in front of the former City Hall/Sanctuary Building on Main Street. Many people ask…
Pella’s Webster Schools; Consigned to History
At left is pictured the original Webster School building as seen in 1936. This school was constructed in 1875 and was located just west of the second, recently-demolished building, at…
South Pella’s Amazing Boomtown Days
Bruce Boertje Ramsey & Co., the second Commission, Forwarding and Agricultural Implement dealer in South Pella. Ramsey's was later taken over by Snow & Huber. Sketch from the 1869 Birds…
Des Moines Valley Railroad Arrives in Pella, 1864
By Bruce Boertje Today we take a look at the most important day in the history of Pella outside of its founding in 1847: The arrival of the Des Moines…
South Pella’s Flour Mills
by Bruce Boertje South Pella has an amazing history that has been largely forgotten. The area south of University Street was originally laid out as two separate plats by two…