It may be hard to imagine, but the Bargerveen nature reserve in Southeast Drenthe used to be practically a village. Scattered here and there in the high moor area were houses.
Under the direction of the Cultuur-Historische Zwartemeer, a historic route was plotted, which leads past 32 signs placed near the former habitation. Each copy briefly tells something about the history of the families that once built a life there. Today the opening took place.
“Look”, Jan Wanders points out. “My family still lived here.” Until 1950, near the sign on the Laardijk, there was a house where three successive families have lived. Including the Dokter-Wanders family. “My grandfather’s sister”, Wanders clarifies.
De Zwartemeerder is not the only one in his village whose family once lived in the Bargerveen. The information boards bring that history back to life. Because in the nature reserve there is really almost nothing left to see. By the middle of the last century, all shelters had virtually disappeared. “Nature has now taken over everything again.”
Wanders is a member of the Cultuur-Historische Zwartemeer, which since 2018 has taken on the task of mapping all the former home places in the raised moor reserve. A job that took a lot of time and effort. Today the fruits of that labor are being reaped. In addition to Wanders, Jan Rocks, a volunteer at Staatsbosbeheer, also plays a significant part in the investigation. He got the ball rolling.
“For Staatsbosbeheer I made excursions with visitors in the area. I was often asked about the habitation in the area.” Since Rocks did not have an answer to everything, he decided to delve into the history of the residents.
Through archives and more than a hundred interviews with relatives of the original inhabitants, he was able to uncover a lot of information. The project gained momentum when cooperation with the cultural-historical association was found. Wanders in particular contributed significantly.
According to Rocks, as many as 1,000 families have lived in the area so far. “But not a thousand homes. Houses were demolished and rebuilt in the same places, where the newcomers moved in. House construction went at a killer pace. It had to be. The house was only allowed to remain if it was built within a day. If the chimney smoked before dawn, it was allowed to remain.
Most structures were then made with anything that could be put on the hands: sod, birch logs or straw. Those with a wider wallet had the luxury of installing a stone facade. A variety of people have called Bargerveen their home.
From peat workers to canal diggers, from peat skippers to buckwheat farmers. In the past, this once desolate Wild West has been bustling with activity. “This used to be just Zwartemeer”, Wanders summarizes succinctly.