Holland

Holland, Michigan
—  City  —
Nickname(s): The Tulip City
Location of Holland within Ottawa County, Michigan
Coordinates: 42°47′15″N 86°06′32″W / 42.7875°N 86.10889°W / 42.7875; -86.10889
Country	United States
State	Michigan
Counties	Ottawa, Allegan
Government
- Mayor	Kurt Dykstra (R)
Area
- City	17 sq mi (44.5 km2)
- Land	16.6 sq mi (42.9 km2)
- Water	0.6 sq mi (1.6 km2)
Elevation	662 ft (202 m)
Population (2008)
- City	34,339
- Density	2,115.3/sq mi (816.7/km2)
- Urban	113,594
- Metro	261,854
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes	49422-49424
Area code(s)	616,269
FIPS code	26-38640[1]
GNIS feature ID	0628421[2]
Website	http://www.cityofholland.com

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 9.08 square miles (23.52 km²) in Ottawa and the remaining 8.13 square miles (21.06 km²) in Allegan. As of the 2000 census, the population was 35,048^[3], with the 2008 census estimate placing the population at 34,076^[4] with an Urbanized Area population of 95,394.^[5] The city is the largest municipality of the Holland-Grand Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has an estimated population of 260,364 as of July 1, 2008.^[6] 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, Groningen and Graafschap. It is home to Hope College and Western Theological Seminary, institutions of the Reformed Church in America.

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.^{[citation needed]} Van Raalte took 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 who had been on the lake for hundreds of years and welcomed the new Dutch settlers with open arms and assistance. 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.

Dutch settlements in Michigan.

Holland was known as the "City of Churches."^[7] There are 170 churches in Holland, many of which are with the Reformed Church in America and Christian Reformed Church in North America denominations. The city is the home to the church that kicked off the trend of the What Would Jesus Do? bracelets in 1989.^[8] 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

A quasi-Dutch^{[citation needed]} culture is commercially promoted throughout Holland government and majority population. The city is home to the Holland Museum, which selects the Dutch theme for all three museums owned by the city.

The Holland Museum contains exhibits about the city's history. Another, the Cappon House Museum, was built in 1874 and is a historic museum that once housed the first mayor of Holland, Dutch immigrant Isaac Cappon. The Settlers House Museum, contains furnishings and relics from the 19th Century.

Holland Harbor Light near Holland, Michigan.

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 a Michigan State Park.

Across the channel is the Holland Harbor Light, known as "Big Red", a lighthouse in Michigan. De Zwaan, an original 250-year-old Dutch windmill, is situated on Windmill Island, a municipal park. Its height is 125 feet (38 m) with 40-foot (12 m) sails. Holland is also host to the annual Tulipanes Latino Art & Film Festival, which is held to celebrate the Latino contribution to the culture. 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 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.^[9]

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.^[10] 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 Gardens, 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.

In the past, about one million tourists would visit Tulip Time each year to which the community finds innovative ways to enhance self-funded projects. It has been ranked as America's third largest town festival and was named Reader's Digest's best small town festival.^[11] 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

Sign welcoming visitors

Tulip beds in downtown

Tulips line the streets

Geography

Holland is on the shores of Lake Michigan and Lake Macatawa. However, the shores of Holland are reserved as private property and tourists could be in violation of the trespassing law if found enjoying the beautiful beaches. Be sure to check where to walk while on the beach in Holland. Only two smaller beaches are allowed for public use, Holland State Park and Tunnel Park. There's also approximately 50m of public access beach space on the western reach of Riley St. This is a popular destination for young people who do not want to pay the access fees of Holland State Park or Tunnel Park. While the picturesque vistas of Tunnel Park vastly overshadow the availabilities of the Riley St. public access, it is nonetheless available for the general public.

Another popular destination, especially in wintertime, is Riley Park, which is approximately 10 acres (40,000 m²) of public land about 3 country blocks west of the Riley St. and Butternut Dr. intersection. This location contains several hiking trails (A, B, C, and V—V being curtailed by a recent subdivision development), and several hills that are suitable for amateur snowboarding during the winter.

Demographics

A graph showing the age distribution of Holland, MI

As of the census^[1] of 2005-2007, there were 32,030 people, 29,089 households, and 7,756 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,929.5 per square mile (746.6 per km²). There were 13,059 housing units at an average density of 786.7 per sq mi (304.4 per km²). The racial makeup of the city was 79.1% White, 1.3% African American, 0.7% Native American, 3.0% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 13.6% from other races, and 2.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 22.7% of the population.

There were 11,401 households out of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.2% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.0% were non-families. 26.6% of all households are made up of individuals, and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.08.

The age distribution of the city is as follows: 23.6% of the population was under the age of 18, 62.6% between the ages of 18 and 65, and 13.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. The distribution of males and females was 51.4% female and 48.6% male.

The median income for a household in the city was $44,620, and the median income for a family was $55,833. Males had a median income of $39,005 versus $29,967 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,857. About 5.2% of families and 10.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.1% of those under age 18 and 7.7% of those age 65 or over.

Background

Governance

The City of Holland utilizes a council/manager form of government. The day-to-day operations of the city are under the supervision of the City Manager and his/her staff. The City Manager is responsible for selecting all department heads, preparation of the budget and supervision of all employees through his/her appointments. The city manager serves at the direction of the Mayor and city council which are elected position. The current city manager (since 1988) is Soren Wolff, who also served as assistant city manager in the mid 1970s. The current assistant city manager is Greg Robinson.

Holland's city charter requires a mayor and eight city council members. The Mayor serves a two-year term, while two "at large" councilmembers and four "ward" councilmembers each serve four-year terms.

The current Mayor is Kurt D. Dykstra, recently elected in 2009 to replace long-serving mayor, Albert H. McGeehan. Prior to becoming Mayor, Dykstra was a five-year member of the Holland City Council, representing the city's fifth ward. He is a partner at Warner Norcross & Judd LLP, a Grand Rapids, Michigan-based law firm. He earned his juris doctorate from Marquette University Law School and received his bachelor's degree from Northwestern College, in Orange City, Iowa, graduating magna cum laude.

• City council members (as of 11/2009) are:
  • At-Large - Jerome Kobes
  • At-Large - Nancy deBoer
  • Ward 1 - Myron Trethewey
  • Ward 2 - Jay Peters
  • Ward 3 - Brian Burch
  • Ward 4 - Robert vandeVusse
  • Ward 5 - Todd Whiteman
  • Ward 6 - David Hoekstra

Education

• Higher level academic institutions
  • Hope College, a private four-year liberal arts college
  • Western Theological Seminary a graduate and professional school
  • Western Michigan University has a branch campus in Holland.
  • Grand Valley State University has a campus in Holland. The land was donated to the GVSU by the Meijer family.
  • Davenport University has a Regional campus in Holland

• Public Schools
  • Holland Public Schools
  • West Ottawa Public Schools, which serve the townships that make up Holland's suburban and rural "north side".
  • Black River Public School, a charter school with elementary, secondary, and high school students.
  • Vanderbilt Charter Academy (K-8).

• Private Schools
  • Holland Christian Schools
  • Corpus Christi Catholic School
  • Calvary Schools of Holland
  • Holland Seventh-day Adventist School

Transportation

The city is serviced by two public airports, the recreational Park Township Airport (IATA: HLM, ICAO: KHLM), and the larger, corporate and charter jet Tulip City Airport (IATA: BIV, ICAO: KBIV). Neither facility is served by regularly scheduled commercial carriers. The city also is 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 and surrounding area is served by the MAX (Macatawa Area Express) transportation system, which offers both on-demand and fixed-route bus service, linking different parts of the city as well as commercial, medical and government locations outside the city. This service evolved from the former "Dial-A-Ride Transportation" (DART) system.

The city is served by the following highways:

• Interstate 196 (Gerald R. Ford Freeway)
• Business Loop I-196
• U.S. Highway 31
• M-40
• A-2

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
• WBBL-FM - West Michigan's Sports Leader 107.3FM Sports radio
• 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
• Groningen, the Netherlands

Notable residents

• L. Frank Baum (d. 1919), author, wrote 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.
• Rob Malda, founder of Slashdot, born and raised in Holland.
• 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.
• Lisa McMann, Young adult fiction novelist born in Holland.
• Mary Jeanne van Appledorn, composer, pianist, and educator.
• Andy Van Hekken, professional baseball player born in Holland.
• Brian Vander Ark, lead singer of band The Verve Pipe born in Holland.
• Taylor Lautner, actor recently in the movie Twilight (2008 film) born in Holland.
• Brian D'Amato, American author and sculptor. Writer of Beauty, and In the Courts of the Sun trilogy.
• James Michael, lead singer of Sixx:AM and producer is originally from Holland, co-wrote Rest In Pieces by Saliva.
• Ryan McDonald, NFL offensive lineman.
• Matt Urban (d.1995), U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel, WWII, received 29 combat decorations and the Medal of Honor

Feature films - filmed on location in Holland area

• 2006: Come On Over, Children's TV Series

Notes

External links

• City of Holland website
• Holland Visitors site
• Tulip Time Festival
• Holland Area Chamber of Commerce
• Dutch Village Family Theme Park
• Beautiful Holland pictures
• Video About Holland

v • d • e Municipalities and communities of Allegan County, Michigan County seat: Allegan City Allegan | Douglas | Fennville | Holland‡ | Otsego | Plainwell | Saugatuck | South Haven‡ | Wayland Villages Hopkins | Martin Charter township Gun Plain Civil townships Allegan | Casco | Cheshire | Clyde | Dorr | Fillmore | Ganges | Heath | Hopkins | Laketown | Lee | Leighton | Manlius | Martin | Monterey | Otsego | Overisel | Salem | Saugatuck | Trowbridge | Valley | Watson | Wayland Unincorporated communities Bradley | Burnips | Glenn | Hamilton | Hilliards | Macatawa | Moline | New Richmond | Pullman | Shelbyville Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

v • d • e Municipalities and communities of Ottawa County, Michigan County seat: Grand Haven Cities Coopersville | Ferrysburg | Grand Haven | Holland‡ | Hudsonville | Zeeland Village Spring Lake Charter townships Allendale | Georgetown | Grand Haven | Holland | Jamestown | Polkton | Tallmadge | Zeeland Civil townships Blendon | Chester | Crockery | Olive | Park | Port Sheldon | Robinson | Spring Lake | Wright Unincorporated communities Agnew | Allendale | Beechwood | Conklin | Drenthe | Eastmanville | Grand Valley | Lamont | Marne | Nunica | Jenison | West Olive Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

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Coordinates: 42°47′N 86°06′W / 42.783°N 86.1°W / 42.783; -86.1