Caretaker's house
The overseer's house was built later than the many colony houses in the area. The overseer lived opposite the 'Gate of Frederiksoord', as the entrance to the Graaf van Limburg Stirumlaan was called. From this spot, the overseer could keep a close eye on who was entering and leaving the colony. On one side ran the Westerbeeksloot or colony canal, at the back ran the Vledder Aa and on the other side was also a deep ditch. So the 1st line, now Majoor van Swietenlaan, was the only entrance to the first pilot colony (Frederiksoord).
Although these were the free agricultural colonies of the Maatschappij van Weldadigheid, you could not just leave the colony. You had to ask permission to do so. Leaving the colony without permission was called 'desertion', just like in the army. District masters and supervisors were also often ex-military who had fought against Napoleon's French armies.
