Overview
 The history of Pittsburgh is well documented. But any evidence of Dutch immigrants playing a role in it is hard to find. And while any Pittsburgher can tell you where the Italian, Polish or Jewish in town can be found, asking for the area where immigrants from the Netherlands can be found doesn’t result in any response.
Asking for where to find Dutch might lead you to eastern Pennsylvania (the so-called Pennsylvania Dutch country). That might be an interesting excursion but you won’t find anyone from the Netherlands there (Pennsylvania Dutch derived from Deutsch, German spoken by settlers from Germany and Switzerland).
 All of this being true, it is still pretty hard to imagine that no Dutch were involved in the early industrial activities of this town. One of the early enterprises happened to be building boats (going downstream on the Ohio River will eventually bring you to the Gulf of Mexico).
The “Woodward Rowlands' Pittsburgh directory for 1852” does suggest Dutch involvement: The name Jacob Vandergrift, with the profession boat builder, is mention in it twice. And a quick look in the telephone directory learned that there are many people here with names starting with van/van der/van de. More Dutch must have found their way to Pittsburgh in the past!
With a bit more research, more might be found!It is not much to ‘prove’ Dutch involvement, but who knows? With a bit
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Community Contacts
2008 European Championship Soccer
On June 7 the 2008 version of the European Championship Soccer will start. If you are interested in the tournaments schedule, or want to know all about the finals event here in Pittsburgh, visit the 2008 Pittsburgh European Soccer Championship web site!
New in Town and Whom to Contact Pittsburgh, with its population of about 400,000 (1.4 million in the county), is not one of the biggest cities in the U.S. But it is certainly big enough to get lost in if you’re new. On this page you will find | | directions to organizations that have made it their business to help those who make their new home in Pittsburgh. | 
| We have indicated the issues they might be able to help you with. But feel free to ask them anything, they will point you to those who can actually help you with your question.
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Welcome Center for Immigrants and Internationals (412) 422-8795 or 1-866-774-2201 or email us at info@wcii.org. World Affairs Council 2640 One Mellon Center, 500 Grant Street Pittsburgh, PA 15219-2502 Phone: 412-281-7970 Fax: 412-281-1795 www.worldaffairspittsburgh.org www.globalPittsburgh.org The Allegheny County Center for ESL (English as a Second Language) Phone: 412-281-4494
Additional
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Department of State - The Netherlands
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3204.htm
USCIS Immigration information
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis
Holland ring --- Web Sites of Dutch People
http://www.thehollandring.com/
The New Netherland Institute
http://www.nnp.org/
The New Netherland Institute (formerly Friends of New Netherland) seeks to increase public awareness of the work of the New Netherland Project and supports the Project through fund raising. The Institute assists authors of scholarly and popular material; disseminates information to educators, researchers, historians, curators, genealogists, and anthropologists; develops collaborations with academic institutions and other organizations interested in early American history; provides learning opportunities, such as internships, as well as research and consulting services pertaining to New Netherland; and sponsors activities related to the work of the New Netherland Project.
Netherlands Clubs & Associations in Pennsylvania
Netherlands Society of Philadelphia
Contact: Mr. James Justin Duryea, Esq., (Acting) President
2415 Sugartown Road
Devon, PA 19333
Tel: (610) 649 3300
The Netherlands-America Association of the Delaware Valley
Contact: Mr. Sylvain van Gobes
6127 Mc Callum Street
Philadelphia, PA 19144
Tel: (215) 844-8665 (r)
www.naadv.org
The Dutch Studies Program
University of Pennsylvania
Contact: Mrs. Anne Langenakens-Koontz
745 Williams Hall
36 and Spruce Streets
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305
Tel: (215) 898-7331 (w)
The Netherlands-American Business Association of Greater Philadelphia (NABA)
Contact: Mr. Thomas Snyder, Chairman
P.O. Box 361
Abbington, PA 19001
Tel: (215) 659-3252 (w)
The Dutch Community in Pittsburgh
Email: info@tnsop.org
http://www.tnsop.org/
Practical Issues
Realize you are not the first one to come and live in the USA. Others have made this step before you and therefore the ‘know how’ for many issues is available.
So if you have questions about how to get a US drivers license, or what papers you need to get married, how the HAVO certificate of your child fits in with the US school system, or any other question, do not hesitate to contact us. Especially the Welcome Center (see earlier on this page) has this huge experience in helping people (in the year and a half of their existence they helped over a thousand people from over seventy countries).
Welcome here in Pittsburgh!
Some of the images on this page were taken by and used with the permission of Jan Enthoven.
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