Holland

Holland is at the intersection of State Highway 95 and Farm Road 2268, on Darrs Creek and the Missouri, Kansas and Texas line fifteen miles south of Temple in southeastern Bell County. Around 1874 James R. Holland settled on Darrs Creek near what is now the site of the community. In 1878 he built the first steam cotton gin in the southern part of the county. A post office named Holland opened there in 1879, and the railroad was built through the town soon thereafter. By 1884 the community shipped cotton and had a population of 300, several gins and mills, five general stores, four saloons, three hotels, a school, and a church. A Masonic lodge was organized in the town in 1885. By 1890 the population had doubled to 600, and Holland had four churches and a newspaper, the Guard. There was considerable Czech immigration to the town in the early 1900s, and a Czech Brethren Church was organized there in 1910. One of the oldest women's civic groups in Texas, the Women's Study Club of Holland, was organized in 1914. The town had incorporated by 1933, when it reported a population of 738 and thirty businesses. Its population hovered around 700 until the late 1970s, when it passed the 800 mark. The community reported ten businesses and 1,014 inhabitants in 1988. In 1990 its population was 1,118. The population was listed as 1,102 in 2000.