Attention stone - Trade school for leather and footwear industry

Trade school for leather and shoe industry (1914-1975)

Already in 1901 it was decided to establish a vocational school for shoemakers. Thanks in part to a bequest from Mr. P.F. van Cooth, the "State School for Tanners and Shoemakers" could be built. The municipality bought land for a horseshoe-shaped building complex on Mr. van Coothstraat. In 1911, the government institute "State Testing Station and Information Service for the Leather and Shoe Industry" was started in the front building . In 1914, the tanning school opened its doors. During World War I, Belgian war refugees found shelter in the shoemakers' classrooms. It was not until 1915 that the shoemaking school was opened. The vocational school made an important contribution to training future leaders in the leather and shoe industry. In 1975, the vocational school closed. The "Institute for Leather and Shoes TNO," which grew out of the testing station, remained in Waalwijk until 1997.