Nederland/Beaumont

It was not unusual for the voyage from Holland to last three weeks across rough seas while being quartered in unsanitary conditions. What do we mean by "quartered"? Even though the land around Nederland did not resemble the photographs they had seen, the thrifty Dutch immigrants quickly found the land suitable for cultivation (rice or truck farming) and dairy farming. Those who did not farm could find work with the railroad. What is truck farming? Locate the Netherlands on a map . What is the approximate longitude and latitude of this country? How does this location affect the climate? Research how life in the Netherlands would have been similar to life in Nederland.

Discovery of oil and growth of refineries in this area along with boll weevil attacks in Louisiana brought settlers of French Cajun ancestry from that neighboring state. What is a boll weevil?

Below you see two examples of Acadian cottages and, as a lagniappe, a replica of a Dutch windmill. Imagine life in one of those cottages. What is a lagniappe ? Where did the word originate? How were/are windmills used in the Netherlands?

Cattle, lumber, and rice were the foundations of the economy in the Nederland and Beaumont area until the discovery of the Lucas gusher. It is also known by another name. What is it?

The people who lived in this house in Beaumont (W.P.H.McFaddin) were already successful when oil was found on land they used as pasture. Behind this home is a large frame building which was the carriage house/servant's quarters/gymnasium. Yes, gymnasium.

In a 1900 LADIES HOME JOURNAL article entitled "How To Make an Attic Gymnasium", Dan Beard wrote "a gymnasium is just the place for restless boys to enjoy themselves during rainy weather when they are compelled to stay in the house." The carriage house had just such a space that occupied one half of the second story in the carriage house. The other half of the upstairs was a hay loft. This made it a perfect place to have "barn dances". The gym had a wooden basketball floor, hoop, "striking bag platform" (boxing) , and trapezes. Window screens were mounted on the inside rather than the outside to protect the windows.

Children were allowed to eat dinner in the dinning room with their parents when they turned sixteen IF they could carry on an intelligent conversation. Younger children ate all their meals in the breakfast room.

The house even had its own fire hose mounted near the ceiling in the second story hall. It was connected to a cistern. What is a cistern ? Cisterns were located on the roofs of house like this one and operated using gravity.

Even though the children living in the cottages you saw earlier didn't have a gymnasium on their property and had to spend more of their time physically helping with chores, they still had time to play. Marbles, cloth dolls, wooden blocks, hoops and sticks (hoops which held barrels together usually outlasted the barrels), carved wooden tops, and board games like checkers were popular toys of the time. Dice were associated with gambling and were not used to play board games. Instead, a six-sided top, known as a teetotum , was used. Numbers were painted or carved into the six flat surfaces and it was spun like a top. If the electricity failed at your house, what would be your favorite game to play?

Books to Read and Other Resources

• BOOMER'S KIDS by Ruby C. Tolliver; Hendrick-Long Publishing, 1992

  CHANCE & ODDS: ACCOUNTING FOR NATURE AND OTHER MORE OR LESS WILD THINGS by Bernie DeKoven

  STRANGE HARVEST by Edward Willett

  CHAPTER 5-WOOL AND WATER FROM THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS by Lewis Carroll

Suggested Activity:

1. On an outline map of Texas, show what products are raised. Be sure to include a key.
2. On an separate outline map of the state, show the mineral resources. Don't forget the key.
3. Use salt dough and tempera to create a topographical map of the state.

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