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Welkom to July! This month we will focus on some interesting Dutch history in the City of Nederland as well as our ongoing projects.

Well to say the upside down N was a perfectly planned Public Relations idea would have been great, it got people out and talking about our town.

Did you know for a yearly membership fee of just $25 you can join the Nederland Historical Society? You can attend the quarterly meetings and listen to interesting presenters on topics including local history and people and events that made our town what it is today.

You will also receive a quarterly newsletter that keeps you informed of meeting dates and time. Please consider joining the Nederland Historical Society.

The City of Nederland was incorporated in 1897.

In the late summer of 1897, The Port Arthur Land Company began construction of The Orange Hotel. This Hotel was constructed to house the immigrants that were moving to the area.

The rates back in 1897 were very reasonable, one example is $15.50 could purchase a room for a month including laundry service. Meals were 25 cents each.

The idea of the hotel was to provide a place for people to stay while they were getting settled in and constructing their homes.

It was a wooden 3 story building with 31 rooms, along with a large combination dining room, ballroom and library. The library contained approximately 1000 books.

It was named after the Royal Family of Holland and was painted a very bright orange. The location of The Orange Hotel was “Heerenstraat” or better known as Boston Avenue, where the current Bank of America building is located.

For some additional research Google or visit the Nederland Library to find out more about this fascinating building, which was quite the buzz back in the day.

The Gateway to Nederland, otherwise known as “the ARCH” or the “SIGN” to most social media followers has caught a lot of attention.

Have you driven by lately to see the beautiful murals that have been painted inside the Arch columns or the beautiful wall murals on the side of Sunset Travel?

There is another mural coming soon to be painted by a local artist and as in most towns, I expect there will be many photo sessions for families out shopping, store models and tourists.

Did you know that almost on any given week Nederland has tourists from the Netherlands?

Traffic really picks up during the summer months. They usually visit the Windmill and Acadian House while shopping our town.

The Arch should wrap up the first or second week of July if not sooner.

The lights are to be installed this week and the back side of the Arch will have its signage complete. Once Entergy is set to go, the LED Lights will brighten the sign on both sides for all to see and the downtown revitalization plan is in full swing.

 

Kay DeCuir is the executive director of the Nederland Economic Development Corporation. She can be reached at kdecuir@nededc.com.