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Holland is a city in the western region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the Black River a few miles from Lake Michigan. The city spans the Ottawa/Allegan county line, with 9.08 mi² in Ottawa and the remaining 8.13 mi² in Allegan. The population was 35,048 at the 2000 census.
Holland has a large percentage of citizens of Dutch American heritage, many who still practice forms of the Dutch Reformed faith brought by the original settlers. It is home to Hope College and Western Theological Seminary, institutions of the Reformed Church in America. The city is best known for its Tulip Time Festival, the nationally-recognized downtown, and its rich Dutch history. The city is serviced by two public airports, the recreational Park Township Airport , and the larger, corporate and charter jet Tulip City Airport . Neither facility is served by regularly scheduled commercial carriers.
History
Holland was settled in 1847 by Dutch Calvinist separatists, under the leadership of Dr. Albertus van Raalte, who were escaping from persecution in the Netherlands. Van Raalte chose the land due to its proximity to the Black River where it streamed to Black Lake (now Lake Macatawa) which, in turn, led to Lake Michigan. The land was inhabited by the Ottawa, which after a cultural clash with the new Dutch settlers relocated to Northport, Michigan. In Holland's early history, Van Raalte was a spiritual leader, as well as overseeing political, educational and financial matters. In 1847 Van Raalte established a congregation of the Reformed Church in America, which would later be called the First Reformed Church of Holland. In 1867, Holland was incorporated as a city with Isaac Cappon being the city's first mayor.
The city suffered a major fire on October 8–9, 1871, the same time as the Great Chicago Fire in Illinois and the very deadly Peshtigo Fire in Wisconsin.
Geography
Holland is on the shores of Lake Macatawa and is near the shore of Lake Michigan.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 44.5 km² (17.2 mi²). 42.9 km² (16.6 mi²) of it is land and 1.6 km² (0.6 mi²) of it (3.61%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census² of 2000, there were 35,048 people, 11,971 households, and 7,924 families residing in the city. The population density was 816.7/km² (2,115.3/mi²). There were 12,533 housing units at an average density of 292.0/km² (756.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 78.18% White, 2.53% African American, 0.58% Native American, 3.56% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 12.41% from other races, and 2.72% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 22.21% of the population.
There were 11,971 households out of which 34.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.4% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.8% were non-families. 26.8% of all households are made up of individuals, and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.24.
In the city the population was spread out with 26.1% under the age of 18, 17.5% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 15.5% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females there were 90.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $42,291, and the median income for a family was $50,316. Males had a median income of $36,339 versus $26,481 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,823. About 6.7% of families and 10.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.8% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.
Background
Mayor
The current mayor of Holland is Albert H. McGeehan, serving the city since 1993. He graduated from Hope College in 1966. In 2004, U.S. President George W. Bush gave him the nickname, "Mayor Al" and the name has since stuck. McGeehan was first elected to city council in 1977, where he served four terms. He is currently in his sixth term in as mayor of the city.Education
Holland is home to two higher level academic institutions. The largest of the two is Hope College, a private four-year liberal arts college in the heart of the city with an enrollment of over 3,000 students. Western Theological Seminary is Holland's second institution, a graduate and professional school, was founded in 1866 and has over 200 students. Western Michigan University has a branch campus located in Holland as well. Additionally, there is a small Grand Valley State University campus near the local Meijer grocery store. The land was donated to the university by the Meijer family.There are three public high schools in Holland, including a charter school. Holland High School and West Ottawa High School teach nearly 2,000 students and are known for their successful athletic programs. Black River Public School, founded in 1996, is a charter school with elementary, secondary, and high school students. There are approximately 200 high school students as of 2005. Another noteworthy school is Van Raalte Elementary School, which was founded in the late 19th century to honor the city's founder, Rev. Van Raalte. In addition to the public school system, there are six schools including one high school in the Reformed-based Holland Christian Schools system, educating over 2,200 students. Other private schools include Corpus Christi Catholic School with over 260, Calvary Schools of Holland, formerly Calvary Baptist Schools, with 230 K-12 students, and Holland Christian School with close to 2000 students.
Tulip Time Festival
Each May Holland hosts an annual Tulip Time Festival. Tulip planting and the festival began in 1930 when 250,000 tulips were planted for the event.* Currently six million tulips are used throughout the city. Tulips are planted along many city streets, in city parks and outside municipal buildings as well as at tourist attractions like Dutch Village and Windmill Island and at a large tulip farm named Veldheer Tulip Gardens.
It is normally held the second week of May, right when the numerous tulips planted around the town are blooming. The festival lasts for over a week and features three parades: the Volksparade, usually led by the state governor with a broom as townspeople in Dutch costume wash the street, the Muziekparade of marching bands and the Kinderparade featuring local children dressed in traditional Dutch costume and wooden shoes. The festival includes fireworks, musical shows and 1,000-2,000 klompen dancers dance on city streets in traditional wooden shoes (klompen), some which go on to represent Holland nationally. Churches and schools are used to provide Dutch meals to tour groups. About one million tourists visit Tulip Time each year. It has been ranked as America's third largest town festival and was named Reader's Digest's best small town festival.*
Gallery
Media
Newspapers
- Holland Sentinel - Holland's local daily newspaper
Trivia
- Science writer Paul de Kruif ("Microbe Hunters," etc.) retired to Holland and died there in 1971.
- Holland was the unlikely birthplace of Slashdot, an influential early Internet weblog created by Hope College student Rob "CmdrTaco" Malda.
- In 1987, 23-year-old recent Hope College graduate and City Council member Phil Tanis was elected mayor of Holland, becoming its youngest mayor.
- Holland is home to the world's largest pickle factory. The H.J. Heinz Company has operated the factory at the same location since 1897 and currently processes over 1 million pounds of pickles per day during the green season.
- Holland maintains a tight bond with sister city Santiago de Querétaro, Mexico and strong development ties with the Netherlands.
- Before the introduction of the Tulip Time festival, Holland was known as the "City of Churches." There are 170 churches in Holland, many of which are affiliated the Reformed Church in America and Christian Reformed Church in North America denominations.
- The Cappon House, built in 1874, is a historic museum that once housed the first mayor of Holland, influential Dutch immigrant Isaac Cappon.
- Holland's downtown is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The "Snowmelt Project" established pipes transporting warm water from the nearby power plant to travel underneath downtown with the purpose of clearing the streets and sidewalks in the downtown area of any snow.
- Holland Harbor Light, also known as the "Big Red," is the state's most popular lighthouse and resides across the channel from Holland State Park, one of the state's busiest state parks.
- DeZwaan, an original 250-year-old Dutch windmill, is situated on the city park, Windmill Island. Its height is 85 feet with 40 foot sails.
- Home of the What would Jesus do? bracelets that kicked off the trend in 1989
- Author L. Frank Baum composed his most famous work, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, while summering in the resort community of Macatawa. Several Holland landmarks are said to have inspired parts of the book and ensuing movie, including the castle at Castle Park and South Shore Drive (which in the 1920s was paved in brick and spiraled to an end at Macatawa).
- Sufjan Stevens, a singer-songwriter who attended Hope College, details the city in the song "Holland" on his 2003 concept album, Michigan.
- Holland was visited by Queen Juliana of the Netherlands in 1952 and by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands in 1982. While still Princess, Juliana received an honorary doctorate from Hope College in 1944.
External links
Ottawa County, Michigan | Allegan County, Michigan | Cities in Michigan | Holland, Michigan | 1847 establishments
"Holland, Michigan"