Eventually, a ribbon shaped village formed between the 1621 lock in the Slikkerdijk and the ditch named De Kolk.

After a new lock was constructed on the other side of De Kolk, at the Pishoek and the Waardkanaal, a settlement center arose there.

The settlement center which arose there was named De Molens, and five other windmills appeared around the same time and ensured the draining of the polder.

With the construction of the church in 1812, that tendency became stronger, and "Wieringerwaard" meant the village round the mills, and the placename De Molens disappeared.

The windmill named De Hoop, which was built in 1742 and which was converted to a corn mill in 1972, is open for visitors every Saturday, weekday only on appointment.