Scholte House, Pella

The Dominie Henry P. Scholte House is an historic residence located in Pella, Iowa, United States. Dominie Scholte was the leader of a secessionist movement from the organized church in the Netherlands in the 1830s. He became the spiritual, practical and formal leader of the Dutch Emigration Society, which prepared and executed the immigration of several hundred Dutch people to Pella in 1847. He is credited with founding the town itself, and was heavily involved in the town's early economic development. Initially a Democrat, he switched to the new Republican party and gave a speech on behalf of Abraham Lincoln at the 1860 Republican National Convention. Switching political parties and his involvement in church schism issues diminished his influence. He died in 1868. R.R. Beard, who married his widow, carried on Scholte's economic leadership in the community. ()