Holland, Michigan

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Holland, Michigan
settlement_type = City
nickname = The Tulip City

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imagesize =
image_caption =
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mapsize = 250x200px
map_caption = Location of Holland within Ottawa County, Michigan


mapsize1 =
map_caption1 =

subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_type2 = Counties
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_name1 = Michigan
subdivision_name2 = Ottawa, Allegan

government_type =
leader_title = Mayor
leader_name = Al McGeehan
established_title =
established_date =

area_magnitude =
area_total_sq_mi = 17
area_land_sq_mi = 16.6
area_water_sq_mi = 0.6
area_water_percent =
area_urban_km2 =
area_total_km2 = 44.5
area_land_km2 = 42.9
area_water_km2 = 1.6

population_as_of = 2007
population_note =
population_total = 34,002
population_urban = 95,795
population_metro = 261,854
population_density_km2 = 816.7
population_density_sq_mi = 2115.3

timezone = EST
utc_offset = -5
timezone_DST = EDT
utc_offset_DST = -4
elevation_ft = 662
elevation_m = 202
latd = 42 |latm = 47 |lats = 15 |latNS = N
longd = 86 |longm = 06 |longs = 32 |longEW = W
coordinates_type = region:US-MI_type:adm2nd_source:GNIS

postal_code_type = ZIP codes
postal_code = 49422-49424
area_code = 616,269
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 26-38640GR|2
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 0628421 [gnis|0628421]
website = http://www.holland.org
footnotes =

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 convert|9.08|sqmi|km2|2 in Ottawa and the remaining convert|8.13|sqmi|km2|2 in Allegan. As of the 2000 census, the population was 35,048. [ [http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/QTTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=16000US2638640&-qr_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U_DP1&-ds_name=D&-_lang=en American Factfinder] , Holland, Michigan, Census 2000 Summary File 1 (SF 1) 100-Percent Data] As of the 2007 Census estimates, the population of the city was 34,002 [ [http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DTTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=16000US2638640&-ds_name=PEP_2006_EST&-_lang=en&-mt_name=PEP_2006_EST_G2006_T001 American Factfinder] , Holland, Michigan, 2006 Population Estimates] with an Urbanized Area population of 95,394. [ [http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ADPTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=40000US39430&-qr_name=ACS_2006_EST_G00_DP5&-ds_name=D&-_lang=en&-redoLog=false American Factfinder] , Holland, MI Urbanized Area, ACS Demographic and Housing Estimates: 2006] The city is the largest municipality of the Holland-Grand Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has an estimated population of 261,854 as of July 1,2007. [ [http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ADPTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=31000US26100&-qr_name=ACS_2006_EST_G00_DP5&-ds_name=D&-_lang=en American Factfinder] , Holland-Grand Haven, MI Metropolitan Statistical Area, ACS Demographic and Housing Estimates: 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. City Hall still practices forms of the Dutch Reformed faith based on religious separatism as brought by the original settlers.Fact|date=October 2008 Appointments and Management level jobs are keep in line with this founding doctrine by the elected officials. It is home to Hope College and Western Theological Seminary, institutions of the Reformed Church in America. The city is best known for its strong Dutch oversight of the community and rich Dutch history.

History

Many Native-American tribes lived in the area and were driven away when Holland was settled in 1847 by Dutch Calvinist separatists, under the leadership of Dr. Albertus van Raalte, who used the Indian Removal Act of 1839Fact|date=October 2008 and were escaping from persecution in The Netherlands. 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 setlers with open arms and assistance. Little mention of these great people can be found in local history writings.Fact|date=October 2008 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. There is little mention of the contributions Native-Americans made to the area of Holland by area historians.Fact|date=October 2008 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.

Holland was known as the "City of Churches." There are 170 churches in Holland, many of which are with the Reformed Church in America and Christian Reformed Church in North America denominations. Only the Reform Church is allowed in governmental ceremonies; no other religions are recognized. The city is the home to the church that kicked off the trend of the What would Jesus do? bracelets in 1989 [ [http://www.ctlibrary.com/ct/1997/november17/7td75a.html What Would Jesus Do] WWJD Products Inspire Thousands, Christianity Today Library, November 7 1997 ] . 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

'If you are not Dutch - Then you are not much' - is a quaint ditty often heard by long time Holland residents reflecting the culture of this West Michigan city.Fact|date=October 2008 A quasi-Dutch 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 first, the Holland Museum, contains exhibits about the city's Dutch population as seen by local residents. Little mention of the rich Native-Americans, who occupied the region before the Dutch or Hispanics whose labor built the community are noted.Fact|date=October 2008 This museum pays homage to the local Dutch. 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, contains furnishings and relics from the 19th Century. While the city has a dense population of Hispanics and Asians, these cultures are often mysteriously overlooked by local historians.Fact|date=October 2008 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 convert|125|ft|m|0 with convert|40|ft|m|0|sing=on sails. Holland is also host to the annual Tulipanes Latino Art & Film Festival, which is held to celebrates 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 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. [cite web |url=http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bpretire/2006/ |title=Best places to retire|date=2006]

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 of public land about 3 country blocks west of the horrendous 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

As of the censusGR|2 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 day to day operations of the city are under the supervision of the City Manager and his/her staff. The City Manager, not the Mayor, is responsible for selecting all department heads, preparation of the budget and supervision of all employees through his/her appointments. The position of Mayor is elected but is very limited in scope and mostly ceremonial with no real supervisory role. The current person of Holland holding ceremonial post is Albert H. McGeehan who was narrowly re-elected, serving the city since 1993. He graduated from Hope College in 1966. In 2004, U.S. President George W. Bush jokingly 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.

Education

The reflection of the aforementioned by Dutch Calvinist separatists, under the leadership of Dr. Albertus van Raalte, beliefs can be witnessed in the Holland area by the separation of the two main education systems. The Public School System and the Holland Christian School system which caters to the majority population of the city and is founded on the beliefs of separatism.

*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

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. [http://www.tuliptime.com/about/festival_history/] 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 dominates Holland's majority population in that members of the city's large Mexican-American minority are advised to participate in the parades.However, at the only Hispanic Festival(Cino de Mayo) Dutch participation is almost non-existant. Reflecting that the "old dutch" ways continue to dominate community and city hall.

Churches profit by providing Dutch meals to tour groups at a heavy price. 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. [ [http://www.hollandgo.com/ HollandGO.com ] ] 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

Transportation

The city is serviced by two public airports, the recreational Park Township Airport airport codes|HLM|KHLM, and the larger, corporate and charter jet Tulip City Airport airport codes|BIV|KBIV. 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 highways:
* (Gerald R. Ford Freeway)
*
*
*
* appease=Media=

Newspapers

*"Holland Sentinel" - Holland's local daily newspaperappease*"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

ister cities

*

Notable Dutch 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.

Feature Films- Filmed On Location in Holland Area

*Unusual Occupations - 1945
* - 1995, starring Hopwood Depree
*The Last Big Attraction - 1999, starring Christine Elise, Hopwood Depree
*Road To Perdition - 2001, starring Tom Hanks, Jude Law, Paul Newman
*Come On Over - 2006, Children's TV Series
*Tug - 2009, starring Haylie Duff, Sam Huntington, Sarah Drew, Yeardly Smith

Notes

External links

* [http://www.cityofholland.com/ City of Holland website]
* [http://www.holland.org/ Holland Visitors site]
* [http://www.tuliptime.com/ Tulip Time Festival]
* [http://www.hollandchamber.org/ Holland Area Chamber of Commerce]
* [http://www.dutchvillage.com/ Dutch Village Family Theme Park]
* [http://www.tugoz.com/Holland_pictures Beautiful Holland pictures]