Smitskamp is a street in Aalten, situated between Keizersweg, Bodendijk, the Keizersbeek and Slaadreef.
The first development dates from 1975, on the Bodendijk side, and consisted of 50 homes for older residents.1 The development followed the rerouting of the Keizersbeek and the demolition of a farmhouse on this site.
In the years that followed, Smitskamp expanded further with the construction of semi-detached houses, detached houses and bungalows. The most recent house was completed in 2019.2
Origin of the name
The name Smitskamp derives from a historical field name referring to a meadow that lay largely within the area now occupied by the housing estate.3 This meadow consisted of two cadastral plots, E-263 and E-264. The table below lists the owners of these plots between 1832 and 1967.4
| Year | Owner |
|---|---|
| 1832 | Hermanus Bernardus Wamelink, farmer |
| 1862 | Gerharda Arnoldina and Johanna Hendrika Evers |
| 1876 | Willem Rudolf Manschot, blacksmith |
| 1881 | Hendrik Jan Manschot, shopkeeper |
| 1908 | Pieter Willem Smits |
| 1910 | Johannes Pieter Smits and others |
| 1929 | Johanna Smits |
| 1948 | Hendrik Smits, municipal clerk in Middelburg (1965: sale) |
| 1967 | Municipality of Aalten |
This readily explains the origin of the field name: a kamp is an enclosed plot of land. From the beginning of the 20th century, these plots were owned by the Smits family, hence the name Smitskamp.5
