Welcome to the digital card box with the big and small stories we collected about the Antoniushoeve in Duivendrecht, the Netherlands, a 19th century farmhouse, which almost fell victim to modernisation in the 20th century and is now alive and kicking again thanks to the inhabitants of Duivendrecht.
This site is based on the original wooden card index that can be found at locations in and around Duivendrecht.
We documented three episodes in the existence of the Antoniushoeve:
One. On November 7th, 1888, Johannes Bon buys a dilapidated farmhouse for his son Adrianus, who wants to get married. On June 4th, 1889, Adrianus Bon and Maria Post lay the foundation stone for a new farmhouse, Ons Genoegen. In 1909, the couple Ferdinand Van Schaick and Hendrika Bon take over the dairy farm. They give the farm the name Antoniushoeve. Ferdinand dies in 1918, Hendrika remarries Gijsbertus van Schaik, in 1920. Together they raise twelve children. Unmarried son Ferdinand van Schaick lives alone on the farm for seventeen years and dies on July 18th, 2010, aged 91.
Two. The Oud-Duivendrecht Foundation fights for five years against the eviction of ‘Farmer Ferd’ and the demolition of the farm. The 23rd of August, 2003 the Antoniushoeve receives national monument status. The municipality of Ouder-Amstel put the farm up for sale.
Three. The English/Dutch couple Jamie Bedford and Lot Sternheim sign the purchase contract. They transform the Antoniushoeve into a home for themselves and a shared living space for young professionals from all over the world.
History does not allow itself to be captured in a single story. Nor does history run in a straight line, but rather in recurring movements or jumps. In order to do justice to that character, we have represented the large and small stories we collected on separate cards which you can click on and read in any order. Please feel free to add your own to our story!
Although several routes of viewing and reading are possible, for the sake of clarity we have divided the cards into five categories: Land and farm, Residents - then, Village in action, Residents - now, Dream and Deed. All routes are good.
The cards are double-sided, by scrolling you can see the front and back.
We wish you just as beautiful a tour through the history, the present and the future of the Antoniushoeve as we had.
Sonja van der Valk
Mathilde de Vriese
More about Oud-Duivendrecht on stichting-oud-duivendrecht.nl and historischamstelland.nl.