and dung was used to fertilize the land, raising the elevation of Meterik's Field by about 1.7 meters over time. Peat from the moor was used as fuel. Meterik originated from scattered farms surrounding the open field created by these settlements, as have the communities of Schadijk () to the north, and Middelijk () and Veld-Oostenrijk () in the east. The oldest reference to 'Meterick' for the area dates to 1483. In the Middle Ages (after 1100 AD) the area became part of the County, the later Duchy, of Guelders. Initial power centers were along the river Maas. In 1326, the nearby castle Huys Ter Horst was founded at the confluence of Kabroekse Beek and Groote Molenbeek. The medieval castle evolved into a home for nobility, but rights to the lands moved hands. At one point the northern part of the field near Schadijk was in hands of the Van Mirlaer family (Meerlo, closer to the confluence of the Groote Molenbeek and river Maas), while the southern and eastern parts were in hands of the owners of the Huys Ter Horst castle. In the Middle Ages, Meterik had its own defensive structure, called a "schans", about 0.5 hectares large and consisting of an earthen wall and a flooded ditch with a draw bridge. In 1622, the area is mentioned as the "schansweide". In 1755, a small house was located there, but taken down in 1793 prior to the oldest known modern topographic map of the area being drawn, the Tranchot und v. Mueffling map of 1802–1804. It was probably located in a hidden, vegetated area near the brook at the Donkstraat where long the "Schans" family lived. Only with political changes after the French conquest in 1794, the abolishment of the noble "heerlijkheden" in 1798, and the later foundation of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, did the feudal system of moving farms settle into a number of family-owned farms. The names of the families who built those farms are given in the Tranchot map and are still transmitted to later generations in the form of an informal Limburgish name that many locals use, which refers to the name of a farm or place. In the heathlands north an east of the field, increased removal of sod heather created a barren landscape with sand dunes, which were planted by fir trees in the 1850's and 1860's to create the 'Schadijker