Most of Holland was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1972. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1887 on, and the census since 1790.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1812.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Holland’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Holland is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Holland’s overall grade.
Massachusetts towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Massachusetts town has 46.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Holland’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (3% of Massachusetts towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1783.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.0 points).
Founding year: Wikipedia (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Holland’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
In 1730, the area that would become the town of Holland was settled by Joseph Blodgett, whose descendants still live in the town today. The town was named after Lord Holland, an English statesman who lobbied for independence for the American colonies. The town was incorporated on July 5, 1783. It separated from the town of Wales, which had in turn separated from Brimfield a few years earlier, in 1775. Holland separated from Wales because the town center of Wales was up through a mountain which made it hard to get through.
Passages that mention Holland, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of the town of Holland, Massachusetts1915 · page 73Read the page →
Read the text
Holland Incorporated 73 assessed on the town of South Brimfield aforesaid, until the said district of Holland shall agree upon the proportion of public taxes the said district of Holland and the said town of South Brimfield shall respectively pay and until the General Court shall lay a tax upon the said district of Holland, And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid that the inhabitants of the said district of Holland be entitled and
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of the town of Holland, Massachusetts1915Read the page →
Read the text
Holland Incorporated assessed on the town of South Brimfield aforesaid, until the said district of Holland shall agree upon the proportion of public taxes the said district of Holland and the said town of South Brimfield shall respectively pay and until the General Court shall lay a tax upon the said district of Holland.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Holland, 1780 to 2020
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
In 1783, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Holland’s post office opened in 1812, and the first U.S. census counted 428 people here in 1790.
How does Holland rank for history?
Holland is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Holland?
6% of Holland’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.0 points), against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town; the median home was built in 1972.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
2015
2015
2013
2013
2008