All About Holland 2025

All Photos Courtesy of Holland Museum

Gerrit Ten Brink carving wooden shoes ca. 1950

Holland High School band, Tulip Time 1958

The Anishnaabek

Dutch Settlement

20th Century

Holland Today

Long before the arrival of French fur traders in the early 1600s, Michigan was home to the Ottawa, Chippewa, and Potawatomi, who together make up the Anishnaabek people. The French likely first encountered the Ottawa, whose name means “traders.” In the 1800s, Ottawa under the leadership of Chief Waukazoo established Black Lake in lands known today as Holland. Though the Black Lake Ottawa relocated to the Leelanau Peninsula in 1849, many direct descendants of the Anishnaabek still call West Michigan home today. Their heritage is honored in the names of many places including Ottawa County, Lake Macatawa, Black River, and Waukazoo Woods, all located in the greater Holland area.

In 1846, a ship full of Dutch dreamers began their journey to America, destined to settle the “Holland Kolonie.” Despite much hardship, these pioneers carved an assortment of shops and burgeoning industry from the midst of the wilderness. By the 1860s, Holland had become an agricultural port and home to an institution of higher learning that would become Hope College. On October 8, 1871, the same day the Great Chicago Fire began, one ill-fated spark nearly destroyed the bustling town. Though nearly everything burned, the community demonstrated its resolve, and Holland rose from the ashes, stronger than ever.

20th Century Holland was a thriving industrial district, known for its furniture manufacturers as well as Holland Furnace Company, H.J. Heinz Company, and Chris-Craft Corporation. During the 1920s, Tulip Time was born and would become one of the nation's most celebrated flower festivals. Holland also became a favored destination for vacationers from Chicago and St. Louis, spurring the construction of ornate resort hotels and family cottages. Following World War II, enrollment at Hope College more than doubled, and the school expanded both its campus and academics to create the influential liberal arts college it is today.

As late as the 1950s, 90% of Holland residents still claimed Dutch heritage. The town, however, had already begun its evolution to a community rich with many cultures. The decade before, the first Hispanic migrant farm workers arrived to take jobs in fields and food processing plants, many staying permanently due to year-round work and educational opportunities. Later, following the Vietnam War, Asian refugees traveled halfway around the world to make Holland their new home. Like the immigrants before them, these groups came in search of a better life and added to the multifaceted fabric of our community.

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