Monument A. G. Wildervanck
In front of the former town hall on Raadhuisstraat stands a monument. It is a tribute to the peat digger Adriaan Geerts (1605–1661), the ‘founder’ of Wildervank.
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The monument was erected in 1897, 350 years after Geerts (who had by then added ‘Wildervanck’ to his name) purchased his first plot of peat here. Adriaan Geerts was born in Groningen. He worked as a writer, a ‘solliciteur’ (supplier to army units), a tenant of the Raad- en Wijnhuis, and a trader in spirits and numerous other goods. In 1647, he leased peatland in the vicinity of Muntendam. The villages of Wildervank and Veendam grew out of the peat-mining settlements that sprang up here.