| Willem Jan van Dedem | |
| Birth Name: | Willem Jan van Dedem tot den Bergh |
| Birth Date: | 18 March 1776 |
| Birth Place: | Zwolle, Dutch Republic |
| Death Place: | Nieuwleusen, Netherlands |
| Occupation: | lawyer, landowner, taxation officer |
| Known For: | Dedemsvaart (town) and (canal) |
Willem Jan, Baron van Dedem tot de Rollecate (18 March 1776 – 21 November 1851) was a Dutch lawyer, landowner and taxation officer who was responsible for the peat excavation in south-east Drenthe and north-east Overijssel. The and town of Dedemsvaart are named after van Dedem.
Van Dedem was born on 18 March 1776 in Zwolle as a member of the family.[1] He studied law, and began his career as a lawyer in Zwolle.[2]
Gerrit Willem van Marle, his father-in-law, had developed a plan in 1791 to excavate the peat in south-east Drenthe and north-east Overijssel by digging a canal from Hasselt to Gramsbergen.[3] [4] In 1809, van Dedem received permission from King Louis Bonaparte to dig the canal which became known as (Dedem's canal).[2] The construction of the canal started in July 1809, and by 1811, it had reached Balkbrug where the raised bog was located.[4] The same year, the town of Dedemsvaart was established.[5]
In 1813, van Dedem was appointed Director Direct Taxation of Overijssel.[2] On 28 Augustus 1814, he was elevated to Baron van Dedem tot de Rollecate.[1] In 1821, he moved his manor Rollecate in Vollenhove brick by brick to Den Hulst, Nieuwleusen in order to see his canal and land from his house.[6] He ran into financial difficulties, and in 1825 sold large parts of land to the Dutch government.[7] In 1845, the canal, bridges and sluices were sold to the province of Overijssel.[2]
On 21 November 1851, van Dedem died in Rollecate, Nieuwleusen, at the age of 75.[2] [8]
On 21 July 1859, a monument was revealed in his honour in Dedemsvaart.[2] The manor Rollecate was demolished in 1930 to build a main road (nowadays known as N377).[6]