BORCULO
A vast swamp extended from north of Holland Township into Olive and Blendon Townships. Part of it was dense and filled with stagnant waters. By burning over the land and digging large drains, however, it became possible later to clear this land.
Gradually, settlers moved into Blendon Township, founding about 1881, a settlement called Klunderstad, named after Jacob Klunderman, in whose house they met for devotions. In 1883 the community changed its name to Borculo. Also that same year, the Borculo Christian Reformed Church began its existence.
The following sporadic details is an account of Borculo, what it was like to live there during the period 1897-1910 as given in a verbal conversation between this writer and a John Elenbaas who was born in Borculo in 1889 and now resides at 33 E. Lincoln Street, Zeeland, MI.
Borculo was a thriving community in 1897. It consisted of “Koop's Store” which was built around 1894 and run by its owner-Henry Koop. It had Borculo's only Post Office in it. A few years later, another store was built. It was named after its owner, Fedde Riemersma, and called “Riemersma's Store” (he later sold it to a Nagglekirk who in turn sold it a Vollink).
Borculo had a blacksmith shop run by a Paul DeGroot; a combination harness and shoemaker shop run by Jacob Lokers; a Dutch speaking church; a telephone exchange, operating out of a private home; and a one room school house. John Elenbaas went to school for only two years but sat next to John Luurtsema at the same desk and remembered John as a very good writer. In school they “taught readen, written, rithmatic, and grammer”.
John remembers Tonnis Luurtsema as going to church every Sunday, but that he died only a few years after coming to the community.
The creamery was started in Borculo around 1906 and was constructed and run by the people of the community.
The only place a photo could be taken was at “E. J. McDermand's Portrait Studio in Zeeland (he began a portrait studio in Zeeland in 1896; in 1926, N. deVries arrived and was hired on as a touch-up man, but in 1939 McDermand died and the business was taken over by deVries).