1869 Vriesland Reformed Church / 1869 Vriesland Reformed Church Building

The congregation of the 1869 Vriesland Reformed Church was organized in 1846 in the Netherlands. Led by the Reverend Maarten Anne Ypma, forty-nine adults and their children emigrated to the United States in 1847. Attracted by the clay soil, these farmers settled this area and named it Vriesland for their native province of Friesland in the Netherlands. Many descendants of the community’s original families still reside in the area, and Frisian names are prevalent. 1869 Vriesland Reformed Church Building This edifice, built in 1869 during the ministry of the Reverend Henry Uiterwyk, is one of the oldest Reformed Church structures in Michigan. The first church on this site was a log cabin which was soon replaced by a clapboard building. The Colonial style of this third place of worship remains largely unchanged. The steeple, roof line, and exterior walls and ornamentation are original. The congregation of the Vriesland Reformed Church worshipped here until 1973.