History
The history of Ulft begins in 1236 with a castle: the long-defunct Ulft Castle. The water castle was located at the confluence of the Oude IJssel and the AA-strang. The castle had a water mill, which was used as a corn mill. At the end of the 16th century, Ulft began to develop as a village. This description begins around 1850. From this time onwards, Ulft grew quite quickly, especially after 1947.
The presence of the Oude IJssel and iron ore was important for the development of Ulft and Gendringen. Iron ore was abundant and easy to dig up. The primeval banks under the agricultural land were very harmful to agriculture and the ore was therefore a problem for the farmers. In 1753, the plan was made to start an 'iron mill' or primeval iron foundry on the site where a water mill had once stood. This made the ore profitable and the farmers were freed from their problem. Long before the Industrial Revolution reached the Netherlands, the production of iron and ironware was a concept.
In 1885, Bellaard, Becking and Bongers opened a second iron foundry in Ulft. This foundry was popularly called "the new hut". After the discovery of the gas field near Slochteren, this company produced gas fireplaces on a large scale for heating homes. The Bocal gas fireplace was a concept in the heating industry and among consumers. Central heating arrived at the end of the sixties and because the company switched over too late, it went bankrupt in 1970.
The iron foundries attracted other companies, particularly in the metal industry