All About Holland 2026

Roots

Holland is an increasingly diverse city which welcomes new residents from across the globe. Today’s immigrants come because they know Holland is a place to find a meaningful community, raise a healthy family, and enjoy a vibrant retirement.

Jerome Whitepigeon • Courtesy of Holland Museum

Courtesy of Holland Museum

The Anishnaabek

Dutch Settlement

For thousands of years before French fur traders paddled into Michigan’s waterways in the 1600s, this land was home to the Odawa, Chippewa, and Potawatomi - together known as the Anishnaabek. Many direct descendants of the Anishnaabek still live in West Michigan today, and their legacy endures in local place names like Ottawa County, Lake Macatawa, Black River, and Waukazoo Woods.

In 1846, a ship of Dutch dreamers set sail across the Atlantic, destined for a new life in the “Holland Kolonie.” A year later, another group from the Netherlands founded the Zeeland colony nearby. The newcomers were welcomed by the Odawa, who shared the wilderness skills they needed to survive. Daily life for the settlers was hard, but they persevered, building shops, homes, and industry from dense forests. By the 1860s, Holland was a bustling agricultural port and housed an institution that would become Hope College. On October 8, 1871 - the same day the Great Chicago Fire began - a blaze left nearly the entire town in ruins. With help from neighbors like Zeeland, Holland rose from the ashes and flourished once more.

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