Pella Books has sold used, out-of-print and antiquitarian books since 1999. Its location, a historic landmark placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007 is the oldest remaining church building in Pella built around 1860. To learn more about the site of Pella Books, read more below or drop in for a visit!

In November, 2020, Pella Books was purchased by its current owners, De J and Debra De Jong from Alfred Post who established Pella Books in 1999. His wonderfully curated collection was well-know for its diverse collection. Since taking over of Pella Books, the De Jongs have been renovating the store, from getting inventory into a database to refinishing the floors to installing new lights and creating seating for cozy bookstore charm. They also love to partner with local authors, artists and book enthusiasts.

More building history… first known as the Christian Church or Soul Sleepers Church, This little single story brick church was built as the Christian Church and is situated at its original location. When Dominie Scholte and the Hollanders arrived here in August 1847, one of the first things Scholte did was to survey and lay out the center nine blocks of Pella, in part to allow construction of a primitive wooden building for use as a church, school and meeting hall. That original building was located on this same lot, directly northeast of this structure. The original building was replaced with this one around 1860. The current building has two parts: the original southern part, which is Pella’s oldest remaining church building, and its northern wing added in the 1970s. The older part is constructed of soft Pella brick and rests on its original stone footings. This is the only remaining church building constructed by the first generation of Pella’s Dutch immigrants. Augustus Koch’s drawing, a Bird’s Eye View of Pella, Marion County, Iowa, 1869 depicts this building and identifies it as the “Soul Sleepers” church.

The devout Dutch immigrants that established Pella quickly established de Christelikje Kerk (the Christian Church). By design, the church had no pastor and was not affiliated with any denomination. The entire (male) congregation served as its consistory. They elected elders and deacons to assist the congregation, including elders that preached. Indeed, Dominie Hendrik P. Scholte, served as its primary preaching elder.

By 1855, the church had essentially separated into three distinct congregations. One became the First Reformed Church of Pella and worshiped two blocks south of here; one became Scholte’s Christian Church that worshiped in a church building one block southwest of here; and the small number of remaining members continued to worship at this site under Elder Jacob Maasdam, a charismatic cooper by trade. It was this third group that constructed this replacement building. From this beginning the congregation later evolved into the Soul Sleepers. The Soul Sleepers believe that after death the soul sleeps until the resurrection, which occurs when Christ returns. By 1884, the building served as the “City YMCA”. Later, it functioned as a chapel where Sunday School classes were taught by the First Reformed Church. Its longest use was as the chapel for The Plymouth Brethren Church. Pella Preservation Trust, a local non-profit preservation organization, purchased the building from the Brethren in 1995. (Courtesy of Pella Preservation Trust.)