Site of First Mercantile Building
Nederland, Jefferson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
As agent for the Port Arthur Land Company, Dutch immigrant G. W. Kilsdonk, Jr., worked to encourage people from his native Holland to settle in this area in the late 1890s. He built a number of businesses to serve the developing community, including a two-story mercantile store at this site. In addition to its function as a supply center, the Mercantile building also served as a community gathering place and meeting hall for many organizations, businesses, churches, and social groups. The original Mercantile building was destroyed by fire n 1909.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In the late 1890s, Dutch immigrant G. W. Kilsdonk, Jr., working as agent for the Port Arthur Land Company, recruited settlers from his native Holland to this corner of Jefferson County. Among the businesses he built was a two-story mercantile store on this site that supplied goods and served as a hall for the young community's churches, clubs, and organizations. The original building burned in 1909.
Why it matters
It records how a single immigrant promoter and his general store could seed and sustain an entire Dutch-founded Texas town.
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Related people
- · G. W. Kilsdonk, Jr.
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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