The town of Clymer, established in 1821, is celebrating its 200th birthday. Pictured, in back, are Carl Neckers, Travis Heiser, Scott Trisket, Todd Kolstee and Brian Willink. In front are Karen Foster, Debby Schurman, Melissa Ranney. Submitted photo

Clymer, established as a town in 1821, is now 200 years old.

Throughout the years of Clymer’s history, town records express the evolution from a wilderness settlement into the small town that it is today. The first annual meeting, held in the home of Gardner Cleveland, showcases how much has changed.

Along with town officers being elected, like Andrew Nobles as town supervisor, the resolutions of this meeting show just how much has changed since its establishment.

The resolutions were as follows: (1) To raise $250 to lay out roads. (2) To raise $25 to support the poor. (3) To raise double the amount of money we draw for the support of schools. (4) To pay $5 for every full-grown wolf killed by the inhabitants of the Town of Clymer, the year ensuing. (5) That hogs shall run at large with a good yoke upon them, 4 inches below and 6 inches above the neck. (6) That the next annual meeting be held at the schoolhouse in District No. 1.

Founding settlements from the wilderness is a recurrent theme in American history, and scholars have pointed to the frontier as the fundamental breeding ground for the values held as American. Clymer is certainly an example of this.

“First you had the English settlers that carved out their fields and log cabins and established some of those early principles of government,” said Rod Beckerink of Clymer’s historical society. “It continued with the Dutch immigrants that came here and had to carve out their own place in the community. A recent development is that Clymer has become an Amish settlement. You get certain waves of immigrants that come in and contribute to the history of Clymer in their own way.”

The early settlers of what would become Clymer were English traveling west as the country expanded its western boundaries in the 19th century. Throughout the mid-to-late-late 19th century, Clymer saw an influx of the Dutch population, and would eventually come to be known as a Dutch community.

In fact, church services in Clymer were all held in Dutch until the 1910s when the first English church service was held, and eventually all services were in English.

“The Dutch immigrants began to show up in the 1840s, and there was about a 50-60 year period of Dutch immigration.” Beckerink said. “Some of those immigrants were forced out of the Netherlands by economic hardship and the promise of land. A future in the United States was a risk they were willing to take.”

The Dutch immigrants were unique in that they immigrated to the United States as family units, which contrasts sharply with immigrants of other nationalities where young men immigrated independently and brought their families over after working and saving money in the United States.

As the United States grew economically, with industrialization in the late-19th and early-20th centuries, Clymer did too.

“Clymer has a proud tradition of being self-sufficient,” Beckerink said. “There was a telephone company that was established in 1915, their own state bank in 1910, an electrical company that was owned and founded in 1913 by Clymer entrepreneurs that made Clymer very unique, and to this day contributed to an ongoing self-sufficiency that Clymer maintains.”

Clymer’s stores, restaurants, funeral home and banks are an example of the recurring theme in Clymer’s history of independence and self-reliance.

Along with playing integral roles in founding and establishing the town of Clymer, residents of the small town played important roles in larger world events.

Clymer resident William Houlton was awarded the Medal of Honor in April of 1865 for capturing a Confederate flag in action at Deatonsville, Virginia during the last weeks of the Civil War.

John Damcott was part of the famous “Lost Battalion” during World War I, a regiment cut off from the Army and surrounded by German forces in the Argonne Forest.

Dale Spencer, a double ace in World War II, was a pilot who successfully shot down four German planes in one minute during his first air battle in late 1944.

“There’s an ongoing tradition of Clymer soldier-citizens in various wars, from the American Revolution through current day,” Beckerink said.

People born and raised outside of Clymer will notice the commitment of its residents to supporting the community in various ways. Whether it’s the volunteer fire department, the history society or being part of a committee in the town, Clymer residents support their community by taking part in local groups and organizations.

“There’s a high degree or level of citizenship,” Beckerink said. “You’re not just a resident, you’re a citizen, and being a citizen has certain duties and obligations, and people take that seriously. It’s a unique characteristic of the community.”

Clymer has a slew of local businesses that benefit the community, including medical clinics, various hardware shops, general stores, libraries, churches, beauty shops that outsiders would be surprised to find in such a small town. These are all an example of self-sufficiency that is rooted in its early days as a wilderness settlement.

One of these businesses, Neckers Company General Store, has been owned and operated by the Neckers family since 1910, and is still in its original location in Clymer.

The historical society that meets at the Haberkamp Huis works to preserve the town’s history by compiling various historical artifacts and records from Clymer.

Today, the current town board, under the leadership of town supervisor Travis Heiser, meets monthly at the Clymer highway building.

Other officials include town councilpersons Todd Kolstee, Carl Neckers, Melissa Ranney and Brian Willink. Other officers are Scott Trisket, highway superintendent; Karen Foster, town clerk; and Debby Schurman, supervisor’s secretary and budget officer.