Hofstra's Dutch History

"I have no idea why there is a windmill on campus," said Colby Ionelli, 24, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania," I never really paid any attention to it."

The miniature Dutch windmill near Hofstra University's admissions building is a small symbol of Nassau County's Dutch heritage. Many students may never give it a second glance. But there is a history behind it, as well as other pieces of Dutch history.

Founder William S. Hofstra traced his roots to the the Dutch province of Friesland. He built an estate-style house in Hempstead and named it The Netherlands. It has since been renamed Hofstra Hall.

Hofstra's original seal, created by art professor, Contant van de Wall, in 1937, was inspired by the royal House of Orange of the Netherlands. The insignia is used with permission of the Crown of the Netherlands.

The Hofstra flag was presented in a special ceremony in 1937 by Dr. Alexander Loudon, ambassador for Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands. It was the orange, white, and blue flag of William III of Nassau with a Hofstra emblem placed in the middle. Former President James Shuart of Hofstra later replaced the orange with gold, making the flag truer to the original flag of the House of Nassau.

The school was unofficially referred to as the Flying Dutchmen, along with the Flying Dutch and Dutch, also very much derived from the county's roots, and did not officially change to the team name of the "Pride" until 2004.

Those roots date back to 1640, when Dutch pioneers settled in New Amsterdam, now Manhattan, and purchased the Nassau area land from the Massapequa, Marioke, and Rockaway Indians.

After decades of land ownership passing between the British and the Dutch, a citizens' meeting held in 1898 in Mineola proposed the name Nassau County in honor of Dutch William III of Nassau, Governor of the Netherlands and, later, King of England.

Hofstra incorporates the tradition of celebrating its Dutch heritage at its annual Dutch Festival. This year, the event takes place on Sunday, May 3 and will feature Dutch food and drink, music and entertainment including Dutch jazz musicians.