On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Holland is more historic than 67% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Holland’s overall grade.
Wisconsin towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Wisconsin town has 3.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Holland’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.9 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Hoard
1890–1903
Howard
1894–1902
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Idlewood Beach
Gone or out of use
Amsterdam SchoolschoolBeaver Creek SchoolschoolDulmes FieldairportGreene SchoolschoolHoard SchoolschoolLakeview SchoolschoolMaple Grove SchoolschoolNorth Cedar Grove SchoolschoolRiver Valley SchoolschoolSouth Cedar Grove SchoolschoolWest Oostburg Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Holland
OostburgUnion
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Holland, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Holland yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Holland is a town in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was listed as 2,273 in the 2020 census. It is included in the Sheboygan, Wisconsin Metropolitan Statistical Area. The unincorporated community of Idlewood Beach is located in the town. The unincorporated community of Dacada is also located partially in the town.
Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 2,239 in 2010, 2,273 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Holland in 1912
Passages that mention Holland, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, past and present1912Read the page →
Read the text
The village has a population of 380, and was separated from the town of Holland and incorporated as a village in 1909. Oostburg is in a flourishing condition, has a Christian Reform church, organized in 1875, grain elevator, grist mill, hotel, several general stores, cheese factory and a blacksmith shop.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, past and present1912 · page 75Read the page →
Read the text
Under the leadership of G. H. Te Kolste a large settlement was made in the present town of Holland as early as 1846. The following year two hundred fellow countrymen who were bound for this port lost their lives within sight of their horror stricken friends on shore, in the burning of the propeller Phoenix.
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, 1890 to 1954
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Holland is more historic than 67% 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?
39% of Holland’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.9 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1953.
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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
