Ghost Churches of Franklin County
Sponsored By The Franklin County Historical Society; Printed in 1976
The Holland Church
On October 4, 1900, the group of people gathered together in Wisner Township, Franklin County, Iowa, for the purpose of implementing plans which had been under discussion for some time, and which resulted in the organization of a Commune, or Kerk, and the result was the church commonly known as the Holland Church. The name as incorporated was De HOLLANDACHE CHRISTLYKE REFORMED KERK, 1891. It was organized under the rules of the 37 Articles of Faith of the Reformed Church of Netherlands and the Five Articles against the Armensand and Dortsche Discipline of 1618 - 1619, also the Rules of the W. C. Reformed Church of America. On September 17, 1892, A. Ploegman, C. Gerrison, W. Gerrison, A. Van Duren and William Vann Buren, filed Incorporation papers with A. Van Duren and A. Ploegman designated as Elders and W. Vann Buren, with one other whose identity is not known, as Deacons.
A plot of ground consisting of 5 acres along the East side of the Southeast Quarter of the Southeast Quarter of Section 18, Township 93 North, Range 27, Franklin County, Iowa, had been purchased from Dennis H. Delaney and his wife Mary, for the sum of $175.00, with a stipulation to the effect that should this land cease to be used for a church or religious setvices that the land would revert to the original owners, their heirs or assigns, upon the payment of the $175.00 purchase price.
The following is an article written by Rita Goranson about the people from the church south of Meservey known as the Holland Church:
"Around 1890, several families settled on farms in the area south of Meservey, Iowa. The majority of these people had come from Holland and were anxious to resume life as it had been. To keep themselves together as a congregation, they built a fine church three miles south of Meservey, where Highway 107 intersects with the Belmond blacktop road. They called the church the Holland Christian Reform and they were known as "Hollanders". As members of the church died, they were buried in the cemetery beside their church.
In the very early 1900s, the "Hollanders" decided to abandon their farms and move on to Pella, Iowa, where most of their countrymen had settled. They sold their church to H. K. Pals who lived in the town of Meservey. He moved the church into town where it was used as a church for another congregation, until 1923. It was then converted into a comfortable home.
The land was sold except for the square acre of land used as a cemetery. It was left as a memorial to those who had lived and died there. Now, years later, the cemetery still stands, with a lone pine tree standing guard. The grave markers have fallen over, and some have been used as seats around the wonderer's campfire. But it is still possible to read the inscriptions on some of the stones."
A further description of this church and cemetery by Alice Suntken of Alexander, Iowa, is as follows:
"For years, a tall evergreen tree has served as a landmark for motorists traveling Highway 107 between Alexander and Meservey, Iowa. The tree juts skyward from a field on the Northwest corner of the intersection. The field is part of a farm owned and operated by Jesse Suntken of Belmond. Tall trees in the midst of an Iowa field are unusual enough, but what makes this doubly so is the tree has its roots in a small cemetery.
The history of this cemetery goes back to before the turn of the century. Five or six families from Holland settled in this area where Cerro Gordo, Hancock, Franklin and Wright counties meet. These "Hollanders" as they were called, started working farms and one of the first things they did was to build a lovely church. As members of the congregation died, a small cemetery was added.
Shortly after 1900, however, the Hollanders deserted their farms and moved on to Pella where most of their countrymen had settled when they arrived in Iowa.
In 1906 or 1907, the Hollanders Church was purchased by H. K. Pals, a Meservey hardware dealer, and he moved it to that Cerro Gordo community. The church served that town until 1923, when it was purchased by E. A. Strassburg, who remodeled it into a house. The Strassburg family lived in it until 1960 when it was sold to Mr. and Mrs. Byron C. Wood, who lived there in 1966.
There are only four or five graves in the cemetery. The tombstones are weathered and their etchings are difficult to read.
One reads: Cornelius Gerritsen - Gehoren (born) June 28, 1813 - Gestorben (died) July 27, 1893; (This upright marker is off its base and laying on its side.)
Another reads: Johanna, wife of G. Nateboom, born September 10, 1860, died April 19, 1899.
Still another reads: Henerika Van Duren - geboren (born) Nov. 2, 1811, gestorben (died) April - , 1897.
The fourth one is unreadable, was of a child (son) born July 14, 1886, died Dec. 9, 1892. It is a small white marker under the pinetree."
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