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Around the year 1630, starch houses or barns along clear, running water were used to make starch from wheat.
This starch product was used to keep garments such as shirts, skirts, tablecloths and lace in shape and prevent them from getting dirty. The Roemersloot in Oostzaan was the ideal place for this process, as the water here was free from contamination by waste from tear, glue and gunk boilers.
A number of starch-making workshops were situated along the Westerstijfselmakerspad , but also on the other side of the Kerkbuurt along the Oosterstijfselmakerspad, now known as Dr. Scharffstraat. The Westerstijfselmakerspad is still a ‘path’. In the centre stands the warehouse ‘De Vriendschap’, which was moved to this location from the opposite side of the Roemersloot around 1936. Each starch-making shed had its own name.
Note! This path can only be reached on foot.
