User:S.camara/Hoogeveen (plaats)

(Drents: 't Ogeveine of 't Oveine) is the capital of the similarly-named municipality in the southern part of the Drenthe province of the Netherlands.

Since the 17th Century
The written history of the peat moss industry in the modern municipality Hoogeveen dates back to 1551. That year Reinold van Burmania and his wife, bought the so-called Meppense Venen, the southeastern half of the township. In 1625 Roelof van Echten controlled an area of about 4200 acres for pledged duties and infrastructure along with the farmers of Steenbergen and Ten Arlo. The area was also property of Heer van Ruinen for a time. In 1631 both plots were puled together and then began the actual history of the harvesting. For that, the 5000 Morgens (unit of area) General Company was established. The dug-up peat was moved via a canal (the New Grift, and later named the Hoogeveens Way) over the water to Meppel and further transported. Throughout this canal smaller canals were dug 160 meters apart, the so-called channels. This distance was designed so that a worker could admit a barrel full of turf. Then originated a network of intertwining channels. With the use of new canals, the opgaanden, systems of channels were created further along the marshes which also connected to Hoogeveens Way. Street names such as 'Hollandscheveldsche opgaande' and the 'Zuideropgaande' serve as a reminder of those channels.