In the 1590s, the Friesche Compagnie (Frisian Company) was founded to exploit the
peat in the area. In 1599, the
raised bog around the River
Pekel A was bought and subdivided in 101 lots. Houses were built along the river for the workers. In 1635, it became part of the , and was controlled by the
city of Groningen as a colony. In 1704, the
linear settlement was split into
Oude Pekela (Old) and Nieuwe Pekela (New), because a second
Dutch Reformed Church was built. Nieuwe Pekela was a separate municipality until 1990, when it merged with
Oude Pekela to form the new municipality of
Pekela.
Lutheran church The peat industry started to attract workers from neighbouring Germany who brought their own form of Protestantism: the
Lutheran church. The closest church was in
Winschoterzijl which was four hours by foot. A ship was quicker, however it was not always possible during the winter. In 1762, a Lutheran church was constructed in Nieuwe Pekela. The church burned down in 1865, but was rebuilt in 1868. It was declared a monument in 2000. Since the late 20th century, attendance of the Lutheran church is in decline, and they nowadays cooperate with the Dutch Reformed Church and often have joint services. The museum opened in 1990, and provides an overview of the maritime history of the region. There is a large collection of pottery and paintings collected by the skippers of the Pekelas. There is a special emphasis on the many gold and silver objects acquired during the journeys. The 18-year-old Grietje
Schoonhoven was employed at the factory, and discovered that her male colleagues had been given a raise while the salary of the women had remained the same. The women twice went to the management who refused to raise their salary. On 15 December 1969, the 30 women employed at Champ Clark decided to call a
wildcat strike, and demanded
equal pay. They became the first women in the history of the Netherlands to go on strike. An additional result of the strike was that the unions decided that regional differences in pay were no longer considered acceptable, and that women and men should get equal pay. However, the union members who were members of the Communist Party were disbarred from the union. The list of names was supplied by the
Binnenlandse Veiligheidsdienst, the Dutch intelligence agency. The cigar factory closed in 1971. == Notable people ==