Holland is a city in

Bell County, Texas Bell County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Texas. It is in Central Texas and its county seat is Belton, Texas, Belton. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 370,647. Bell County is part o ...

, United States. The population was 1,075 at the 2020 census. The

center of population In Demography, demographics, the center of population (or population center) of a region is a geographical point that describes a centerpoint of the region's population. There are several ways of defining such a "center point", leading to dif ...

of Texas is located in Holland. It is part of the Killeen–Temple–Fort Hood metropolitan statistical area.

History

Holland's history reaches back to a time before the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, when a community known as Mountain Home began to grow up near Gotcher's Mountain, a hill south of town. A post office was established on August 22, 1870, under the name Mountain Home, with James Shaw as postmaster.Schmidt, Walter G. ''An Encyclopedia of Texas Post Offices: Texas Post Offices Under Five Flags'' (1993) The Collectors' Club of Chicago, p 151. On November 6, 1871, the Mountain Home post office was officially closed. In 1881, an extension of the

Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad The Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad was a Class I railroad company in the United States, with its last headquarters in Dallas, Texas. Established in 1865 under the name Union Pacific Railroad (UP), Southern Branch, it came to serve an exten ...

was laid out from Denison to

Taylor Taylor, Taylors or Taylor's may refer to: People * Taylor (surname) ** List of people with surname Taylor * Taylor (given name), including Tayla and Taylah * Taylor sept, a branch of Scottish clan Cameron * Justice Taylor (disambiguation) ...

, and the tracks were constructed through Bell County in 1881 and 1882, from north to south, passing through the Holland community. This brought about the town of Holland as it is known today. James Reuben Holland arrived in

Belton, Texas Belton is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. Belton is the county seat of Bell County, Texas, Bell County and is the fifth largest city in the Killeen – Temple – Fort Hood metropolitan area, Killeen-Temple metropolitan area. In 2020, the popu ...

, on October 26, 1874, with a wagon and horses, his wife and four children, and six dollars cash. A. Moss made an application for the Mountain Home community to have a new post office again, but by that time, the name "Mountain Home" had already been claimed by another community. Without Holland's knowledge, Moss submitted the name "Holland". The Holland post office was officially approved April 10, 1879, with the appointment of Alfred Evans as postmaster. In 1877, Holland bought of land along Darr's Creek for $5.00 an acre. The following year, Holland bought an additional and built a steam-powered

cotton gin A cotton gin—meaning "cotton engine"—is a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, enabling much greater productivity than manual cotton separation.. Reprinted by McGraw-Hill, New York and London, 1926 (); ...

Geography

Holland is located in southeastern Bell County. Texas State Highway 95 passes through the town, leading north to

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

and south to

. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , of which , or 1.12%, is covered by water.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,075 people, 487 households, and 373 families residing in the town. As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, 1,102 people, 388 households, and 287 families resided in the town. The population density was . Thewere 432 housing units averaged 245.0/sq mi (94.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 85.57% White, 5.35% African American, 0.09% Native American, 0.54% Asian, 0.82% Pacific Islander, 4.81% from other races, and 2.81% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 20.24% of the population. Of the 388 households, 43.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.1% were married couples living together, 15.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.0% were not families. About 23.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.84 and the average family size was 3.38. In the town, the population was distributed as 35.6% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 9.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.9 males. The median income for a household in the town was $26,500, and for a family was $31,250. Males had a median income of $25,114 versus $19,167 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $11,360. About 24.2% of families and 30.1% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 41.2% of those under age 18 and 29.6% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Holland is served by the Holland Independent School District.

Festivities

Holland is home to the Corn Festival. The "Corn Fest", as the locals call it, is held every third Saturday in June. It traditionally includes a parade on Saturday, carnival from that Wednesday until Saturday, and live music and street dances on Friday and Saturday nights.

References

External links

City of Holland official website
{{authority control Towns in Bell County, Texas Towns in Texas Killeen–Temple–Fort Hood metropolitan area Populated places established in 1881 1881 establishments in Texas