Things to do

In the mid-18th century, four small hamlets lay along an old sandy track running through the Peel to Nederweert: ‘Voorste Heusden’, ‘Middelste Heusden’, ‘Achterste Heusden’, and ‘De Behelp’. But there was already settlement before that, as evidenced by the castle ruins with a gatehouse and forecourt, which date back much further. The farmstead Voorste Heusden is mentioned as early as 1464, and the farms Terheide and Vennehoeve in 1486. At that time, the oldest parts of Heusden were part of the estate owned by the lords of Asten. The leasehold lands were called hosden (from hosdinium) or hoesden, which likely gave Heusden its name.

The area of the Peel was known as ‘Het Gevlocht’, and along the sandy road to Nederweert lay the Lierops marsh, connected to the Eeuwsel marsh. Heusden was essentially the edge of the inhabited world, as the cultivated fields gradually gave way to higher sandy grounds and eventually the vast Peel. Farmers mainly used the Peel for peat-cutting. The peat was used as fuel and also sold for that purpose. At the end of the 19th century, farmers began trying to convert the Peel into arable land. In spring, the peat was burned, and buckwheat was sown. The Peel transformed into a sea of flowers with an intoxicating scent.

However, the income from peat extraction was not enough to alleviate poverty. The roughly 50 farms across the four hamlets were often in poor condition, with clay walls on a wattle structure and thatched roofs. The farms were strung out in a ribbon through the green countryside. Toward the river Aa, the hay and pasture plots were small and bordered by trees, which were used for stakes and bundles of branches (mutsaarden). Farmers in Heusden owned a relatively high number of dairy cattle.

This led the farmers of Heusden to establish a butter factory in 1893. This initiative improved cooperation among the hamlets. Increased land reclamation also led to more through traffic. New houses were built, and more farms were added. As early as 1905, the residents of Heusden wanted to build their own school, but this was long delayed because Heusden would then need to become its own parish. In response, the farmers formed a cooperative to fund the creation of a parish. The school was finally built in 1918, and the church followed in 1921. By then, the four hamlets Voorste, Middelste, and Achterste Heusden, along with De Behelp, had grown together into a single village named Heusden.