Willem Jan, Baron van Dedem tot de Rollecate (18 March 1776 – 21 November 1851) was a Dutch lawyer, landowner and taxation officer who was responsible for the peat excavation in south-east Drenthe and north-east Overijssel.

[2] Gerrit Willem van Marle, his father-in-law, had developed a plan in 1791 to excavate the peat in south-east Drenthe and north-east Overijssel by digging a canal from Hasselt to Gramsbergen.

[2] The construction of the canal started in July 1809, and by 1811, it had reached Balkbrug where the raised bog was located.

[2] On 28 Augustus 1814, he was elevated to Baron van Dedem tot de Rollecate.

[6] He ran into financial difficulties, and in 1825 sold large parts of land to the Dutch government.