Holland is also host to the annual Tulipanes Latino Art & Film Festival, which is held to celebrate the Latino contribution to the culture. Holland boasts an annual Fiesta, organized by Latin Americans United for Progress, usually on the Saturday closest to May 5 ( Cinco de Mayo). Its height is 125 feet (38 m) with 40-foot (12 m) sails.
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.ĭe Zwaan, an original 250-year-old Dutch windmill, is situated on Windmill Island, a municipal park. Holland's downtown is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Holland Harbor Light near Holland, Michigan. Because of the Great Michigan Fire (which included the Port Huron Fire of 1871), Manistee and Port Huron, Michigan also burned at the same time. 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. On March 25, 1867, Holland was incorporated as a city with Isaac Cappon being the city's first mayor. 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 Holland's early history, Van Raalte was a spiritual leader, as well as overseeing political, educational and financial matters. Chief Peter Waukazoo and Reverend George Smith decided to move the community and the Ottawa Mission from Holland up to Northport (on the Leelanau Peninsula) via on boats and canoes. Eventually, the natives instead moved north in an effort to preserve their way of life and culture. Soon, Dutch leaders tried to force the natives to wooded land in Allegan County. The Dutch were unwilling to accept the Ottawa people's mix of Catholic and Native culture. Dutch settlers began stealing sugar and venison from the Ottawa. The Dutch settlers and the Ottawa people never got along. Van Raalte and his colony settled on land in the midst of the Ottawa ( Odawa) people's Old Wing Mission Colony near the Black River where it streamed to Black Lake (now Lake Macatawa) which, in turn, led to Lake Michigan. Dire economic conditions in the Netherlands compelled them to emigrate, while their desire for religious freedom led them to unite and settle together as a group. Holland was settled in 1847 by Dutch Calvinist separatists, under the leadership of Dr. This attempt to work and live together was not valued by the next group who arrived. While generally unsuccessful in converting the Native population, the two groups worked together relatively closely for a short time.
The Ottawa living here were primarily practicing Catholics, but Smith tried converting them to Protestantism. In 1846, Reverend George Smith established the Old Wing Mission as an outreach to the native population. Ottawa County was originally populated by Ottawa Indians. In February 1996 the Holland City Council approved a sister city relationship between Santiago de Querétaro, Querétaro, Mexico and the City of Holland. It is home to Hope College and Western Theological Seminary, institutions of the Reformed Church in America. Holland was founded by Dutch Americans, and is in an area that has a large percentage of citizens of Dutch American heritage. As of 2013, both areas are part of the Grand Rapids–Kentwood–Muskegon Combined Statistical Area. The Ottawa County portion is part of the Grand Rapids- Kentwood Metropolitan Statistical Area, while the Allegan County is part of the Holland Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is coextensive with Allegan County. Holland is the largest city in both Ottawa and Allegan counties. As of the 2010 census, the population was 33,051, with an urbanized area population of 113,164, as of 2015. The city spans the Ottawa/ Allegan county line, with 9.08 square miles (23.52 km 2) in Ottawa and the remaining 8.13 square miles (21.06 km 2) in Allegan. It is situated near the eastern shore of Lake Michigan on Lake Macatawa, which is fed by the Macatawa River (formerly known locally as the Black River). Holland is a city in the western region of the Lower Peninsula of the U.S.