East ham

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Update 31-08-2022

Oostham is a village in the Belgian province of Limburg, in the Zuiderkempen, and a part of the municipality of Ham.

Toponymy

The name Ham was first mentioned in 784, after the Germanic hamma, a headland that indents into a swampy area.

History

Already in 698 Pepin of Herstal, who owned the land, donated it to the Abbey of Sint-Truiden. In 1307 the patronage right came to the Abbey of Averbode. From 1372-1834 there was a castle, which was located southwest of the later village of Oostham. This village developed at a crossroads of roads: the road from Kwaadmechelen to Heppen, and the road from Olmen to Beverlo. In the center was a triangular village square, on which the church was located and still is. In the 16th century, flax and fibre hemp/hemp were mainly cultivated, from which, among other things, fishing nets were manufactured. In the 17th century sheep were kept there and the cloth industry took off. In the 19th and 20th centuries there were jobs in the area: the chemical industry (such as the laterTessenderlo Chemie, the coal mine of Beringen and the military Camp of Beverlo. The rural buildings largely disappeared and ribbon buildings developed along the roads. After the Second World War, new districts were built, namely Wasseven and Generode.