Farmstead Oud Meerveld - Nijkerk

The history of the farm starts in 1926, when Willem van Meerveld bought the moorland originally owned by the Dutch Heath Society. He came from Oirschot with his family to the area, where the land needed to be reclaimed before a farm could emerge. In January 1926, an application was made for the construction of a house and farm, and construction could begin in May that year. The farm, completed in 1928, had a dwelling house, cow and horse stables, and a straw roof. Its original address was Achterste Woudsteeg 19, in Nijkerk. In the early years after construction, pear trees were planted next to the house, and, according to old drawings, there may also have been a haystack in the yard, although this cannot be confirmed with certainty.

On 17 April 1945, the farm was completely destroyed during heavy fighting between Canadian liberators and German soldiers near Prinsenkamp. The farmhouse was hit by shells and caught fire. Fortunately, no one from the family was killed.

In 1946, an application was made to rebuild a cattle barn. In 1948, a government grant was received to rebuild the main house and outbuildings. In the reconstruction, the farmhouse was placed in line with the road. Although the reconstruction farms all had red tiled roofs, Willem van Meerveld chose to use black tiles. This gave the farm a unique appearance.

From 1961, Hendrik van Meerveld, Willem's son, took over the farming business. He expanded the livestock and leased land from the Dutch Reformed Church in Voorthuizen, the so-called ‘Kerkenland’. In 1981, the farm was divided into two houses, after which Anton and Ditsie moved into one of the houses with their family. Anton took over the farm in 1982, expanded it to include rabbits and calves, but quit in 1993 due to the need for large-scale expansion.

The former residential part of the farm is no longer owned by the Van Meerveld family. To preserve the past, they named the farm ‘Hoeve Oud Meerveld’. The current owners try to further honour the farm's past by using old building materials and historical animal breeds that you can see on the farm. These include cattle breeds such as the Witrik and the Streeprug, a Friesian Stabij (dog) and Dutch Land goats.