About Holland, Michigan (courtesy of Wikipedia)

Holland is a city in the western region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on Lake Macatawa and the Black River a few miles east of Lake Michigan. The city spans the Ottawa/Allegan county line, with 9.08 mi² in Ottawa and the remaining 8.13 mi² in Allegan. The population was 35,048 at the 2000 census. Holland's Metropolitan population as of 2005 was said to be well over 200,000 residents.

Holland has a large percentage of citizens of Dutch American heritage, many who 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, the nationally-recognized downtown, and its rich Dutch history. 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 is also served by regularly scheduled Amtrak service east to Grand Rapids and west to Chicago with connections to all points east and west.

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.

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