Everything about Holland Michigan totally explained
Holland is a city in the
western region of the
Lower Peninsula of the
U.S. state of
Michigan. It is situated near the eastern shore of
Lake Michigan on
Lake Macatawa, which is fed by the
Macatawa River (also known locally as the Black River). The city spans the
Ottawa/
Allegan county line, with in Ottawa and the remaining in Allegan. As of the
2000 census, the population was 35,048. As of the 2006 Census estimates, the population of the city was 34,245 with an
Urbanized Area population of 93,471. The city is the largest municipality of the Holland-Grand Haven
Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has an estimate population of 259,671 as of
July 1,
2006.
Holland was founded by
Dutch Americans, and is in an area that has a large percentage of citizens of
Dutch American heritage who live in communities with such Dutch names as
Harlem,
Zeeland,
Vriesland, and
Graafschap. Many 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, nationally-recognized downtown, and rich Dutch history.
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.
Manistee and
Port Huron, Michigan also burned.
The city has a strong religious base since its founding. 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 with the
Reformed Church in America and
Christian Reformed Church in North America denominations. The city is the home of the
What would Jesus do? bracelets that kicked off the trend in 1989.
Holland retains some ties with the Netherlands. The city was visited by
Queen Juliana of the Netherlands in 1952, by
Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands in 1982, and by
Princess Margriet of the Netherlands in 1997. Juliana (while still Princess) received an honorary doctorate from Hope College in 1944.
In 1987, 23-year-old recent
Hope College graduate and City Council member Phil Tanis was elected mayor of Holland, becoming its youngest
mayor.
Culture
The city is home to the
Holland Museum, which administers three museum facilities in the city. The first, the Holland Museum, is located in the former post office downtown and contains exhibits about the history of the city and the region. Another, the
Cappon House Museum, was built in 1874 and is a historic
museum that once housed the first mayor of Holland, influential Dutch
immigrant Isaac Cappon. The
Settlers House Museum, one of the few homes to survive the 1871 fire, contains furnishings and relics from the 19th Century and illustrates life for the city's working class in the early days of the city. Composer Evan Haddad frequents his summer abode on lake Michigan and may be seen on fair summer evenings wandering the beach with other local artists and writers.
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.
Nearby
Holland State Park is among the most visited parks in the state. Across the channel from the park is the
Holland Harbor Light, known as "Big Red", one of the most photographed lighthouses in Michigan.
De Zwaan, an original 250-year-old Dutch windmill, is situated on
Windmill Island, a municipal park. Its height is with sails.
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 was the unlikely birthplace of
Slashdot, an influential early
Internet weblog created by
Hope College student
Rob "CmdrTaco" Malda.
CNN Money named Holland as one of the top five places to retire in 2006.
Holland is host to the annual
Tulipanes Latino Art & Film Festival which celebrates the Latino contribution to the culture and prosperity of western Michigan.
Geography
Holland is on the shores of
Lake Macatawa and is near the shore of
Lake Michigan.
Demographics
As of the
census of 2000, there were 35,048 people, 11,971 households, and 7,924 families residing in the city. The
population density was 2,115.3 per square mile (816.7/km²). There were 12,533 housing units at an average density of 756.4/sq mi (292.0/km²). 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
Public Schools
Private Schools
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, the city-owned Windmill Island park, 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 Kinderparade, featuring local children dressed in traditional Dutch costume and wooden shoes; and the Muziekparade of marching bands that come from local high schools, to regional to national. Some bands even come as far as New York to march in the Muziekparade. The festival includes fireworks, musical shows and 1,000-2,000 klompen dancers, mostly females, dance on city streets in traditional wooden shoes (klompen); some of them go on to represent Holland nationally. The festival is so well entrenched in Holland's culture that members of the city's large Mexican-American minority are frequently seen participating in the klompen dances. 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. The Tulip Time Festival has attracted big name acts in recent years such as: Christina Aguilera in 2000, O-Town in 2001, The Verve Pipe in 2004, and Jars of Clay in 2006. Ed McMahon visited Tulip Time in 2007 along with Bobby Vinton.
Gallery
Image:Holland MI Tulips 01.jpg|Sign welcoming visitors
Image:Holland MI Tulips 02.jpg|Tulip beds in downtown
Image:Holland MI Tulips 03.jpg|Tulips line the streets
Transportation
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. The city is also served by regularly scheduled Amtrak service (the Pere Marquette) east to Grand Rapids and west to Chicago with connections to all points east and west.
The city is served by the MAX (Macatawa Area Express) bus system. Which offers both fixed routes linking different parts of the city as well as large commercial centers outside the city, which is the former Dial-A-Ride system.
The city is served by the following state trunklines:
Interstate 196 (Gerald R. Ford Freeway)
Interstate Business Loop 196
U.S. Highway 31
U.S. Business Route 31
M-40
M-121
Media
Newspapers
Holland Sentinel - Holland's local daily newspaper
Grand Rapids Press - has maintained a Holland newsroom and circulation office since the 1980s.
The Flashes - Serves Ottawa and Allegan counties for the Holland Area.
The Suburban Review - Senior Citizen Newspaper
Radio
WHTC - Holland's Hometown Station 1450 AM Station
WYVN - Holland's Home for Classic Rock 92.7FM
WKLQ - Rockin' The Lakeshore 107.3FM Pure Rock
WTHS - Hope College Radio Station 89.9FM
LakeshoreRadio.net - The Lakeshore's Music Station
WTNR - Thunder 94.5 New Country
Television
MACTV - Holland Local Television Station
Athletics
Sister cities
Santiago de Querétaro, Mexico
Notable residents
L. Frank Baum (d. 1919), author, composed his most famous work, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, while summering in the resort community of Macatawa.
Paul de Kruif (d. 1971), science writer ("Microbe Hunters", etc.) retired to Holland and died there in 1971.
Max DePree, writer; industrialist; former CEO of Herman Miller, Inc.
Gerrard Wendell Haworth (d. 2006), industrialist; founder of office furniture manufacturer Haworth Company.
Pete Hoekstra, U.S. Congressman from Michigan's 2nd Congressional District; chairman of House Intelligence Committee, 2004-2007.
David Myers, psychologist; author.
Milton J. Nieuwsma, author; filmwriter-producer.
Erik Prince founder of the private military company Blackwater USA
Ron Schipper (d. 2006), college football coach; member of College Football Hall of Fame.
Herman Stegeman (d. 1939), varsity coach and athletics director at the University of Georgia (UGA) in Athens.
Sufjan Stevens, singer-songwriter; attended Hope College, details the city in the song "Holland" on his 2003 concept album, Michigan.
Mary Jeanne van Appledorn, composer, pianist, and educator.
Andy Van Hekken, professional baseball player.Further Information
Get more info on 'Holland Michigan'.
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