The papers of Albertus C. Van Raalte are located in the archival collections of the Holland Historical Trust, Hope College, and Western Theological Seminary. All three collections contain extensive amounts of correspondence. Details of the materials in each collection can be found in the register of that collection. Photographs are found in the Trust and Western Seminary collections.

Albertus Christiaan Van Raalte was born in Wanneperveen, Overisel, the Netherlands, on October 17, 1811. His father was Albertus Van Raalte, a minister in the state church of the Netherlands.

He went to the University of Leyden to study medicine, but in 1833 decided to study for the ministry. In 1836, he became a minister in the Church of the Seceders when he was refused entry into the ministry of the state church. In that same year, he married Christina De Moen, who was born January 30, 1815, in Leiden. He served various churches in the Netherlands, including those in Ommen and Arnhem, until 1846.

Because of the persecution he and his followers were experiencing, Van Raalte decided to emigrate to America. In September 1846, Van Raalte, his wife, and five children set sail on the Southerner for New York with 53 members of his congregation. After much deliberation and prayer, he decided to settle in the area at the head of Black Lake, the present site of Holland, Michigan. He served as the spiritual and political leader of the colony, which grew rapidly. He was also instrumental in the founding of Hope College.

His primary role was that of pastor to the community. One of the first buildings to be erected in 1847 was the log church. However, the economic life of the community soon became Van Raalte’s major concern. In the name of the association, he purchased several thousand acres. As colonists arrived, they purchased their land for farms or lots for homes. He was very active in the development of Holland Harbor. He lobbied extensively in Lansing and Washington for harbor appropriations.

Van Raalte was also concerned with the educational needs of the community. He not only developed the public school system with a strong set of local controls, but also laid the foundations for the Pioneer School, which became the Holland Academy and later developed into Hope College.

His goal of developing a Christian community governed by Christian principles was visionary but was shattered in 1850. Holland Township became the basic unit of government. Van Raalte’s ideal of Christian control was lost, but his influence was felt because he became active in politics and he continued to own large tracts of land. Although many of the means to achieve a Christian community broke down, Van Raalte was still the pastor of the only church, member of the district school board, guiding light of the Academy, principal landowner, and a businessman with major property holdings.

Dissension, strife, and division among his followers ultimately killed the colony as it was originally envisioned. Some of the stress was undoubtedly caused by Van Raalte’s personality. He knew what he wanted for his colony and he thought he knew what was good for the community and acted accordingly. However, much of the criticism was clearly unfair. The narrow-mindedness and small spirit of some of the Dutch settlers were unbelievable. As early as 1856, Van Raalte entertained the possibility of leaving the colony. He received a call from the church in Pella, Iowa, in that year, but declined as a result of a new show of support by the congregation.

Poor health forced his resignation as minister in 1867, and in 1871, his wife died and the city of Holland was destroyed by fire. He encouraged the settlers to rebuild the city, and lived until 1876, when he died after a lingering illness.

The collection consists of articles, biographical materials, clippings, correspondence, genealogies, a handwritten sermon, and a Sunday School roll book dated 1851-1855. The correspondence includes 80 letters written to Dr. Philip Phelps between the years 1857 and 1875.

The collection is arranged alphabetically by type of material, except that the correspondence is all in Box 2 because of the large amount it contains. The correspondence with Dr. Phelps is arranged chronologically. Two letters written to Dr. Phelps (51 and 82) are the gift of Gerrit Elzinga.