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HOLLAND, TEXASBell County,
North Central Texas
Hwy 95 and FM 2268
15 miles S of Temple
Population: 1,118 (1990)
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The silo in Holland
TE photo, 2004 |
History
in a Pecan Shell
The town was named after early settler James R. Holland who reportedly
moved into the area in 1874. His construction of a steam cotton gin
in 1878 insured that the community would thrive. A post office (granted
the following year) was there to meet the railroad when it arrived
and the town soon became a major cotton shipping point. |
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The bank building in Holland
TE photo, 2004 |
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Bank detail
TE photo, 2004 |
By 1884 the population
was a substantial 300 persons and the following year a Masonic lodge
was organized. The population doubled in just six years and by that
time they had acquired a newspaper.
Holland is included in the string of towns from La
Grange to Hillsboro
that were settled by Czech immigrants.
In 1933 the population was just over 700 and it's one of the few smaller
towns (not on a major highway) to have increased in population over
the years.
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©
John Troesser |
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The
Old Czech Moravian Church
Photo courtesy Genevieve Shockley, April 2006 |
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Old Czech
Moravian Church
My father, Charles F. Baker, was the Ag Teacher in Holland for thirty
years. He has indicated to me that he started teaching in Holland,
he was told that the original one room school house was on this site.
When asked, he could neither confirm nor deny that this church building
may have been the original school. |
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United
Methodist Church of Holland
Photo courtesy Genevieve Shockley, April 2006 |
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United Methodist
Church of Holland
The church had clear frosted glass windows in the 1960-70's. The rear
building is a replacement of the original Sunday School building/social
hall, which extended as an "ell" of the church. |
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First
Christian Church of Holland
Photo courtesy Genevieve Shockley, April 2006 |
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I believe this was the Christian Church, or the First Christian Church
of Holland. |
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Church
Of Christ
Photo courtesy Genevieve Shockley, April 2006 |
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The
Holland Museum in the old Mayfield Home.
Photo courtesy Genevieve Shockley, April 2006 |
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Old
Pacha Homestead
Photo courtesy Genevieve Shockley, April 2006 |
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Distant
view of the Pacha Homestead
Photo courtesy Genevieve Shockley, April 2006 |
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This was the
old Pacha homestead. It is located between the railroad tracks and
the back road of the Holland Cemetery. Mr. Charles Baker believes
that it may be possible that it was built in the 1880's or perhaps
before that time.
- Genevieve B. Shockley, Round Rock, Texas, April 2006 |
Subject:
Pacha Homestead
As I was browsing the internet, I came across your [magazine] and
noticed some pictures of my family's homestead. This was actually
my Great Grandpa and Great Aunts & Uncles home. They moved there
in 1944. My Great Grandpa came to Texas in about 1900 from Czechoslovakia.
There is still one loving Aunt Mary Massar who still lives in Holland.
My dad (Bill Pacha) said that the house was built about 1880-1890
but he's not sure the actual date. Up until about 2000 my Great
Aunt Emma Pacha lived there until poor health caused her to move
in with relatives. She did not have running water and retrieved
water from the well. I remember being in elementary school and staying
there after school, my Aunt Emma always made kolaches with her wood
burning stove and sold them for $1 a dozen. People came from all
over the place just to get her kolaches. I remember a man coming
from Waco just to get kolaches every week. I could probably go on
for days about Holland's history. Thank You. - Lannie Pacha,
June 06, 2006
Holland's
Khulman Community Center
[Does anyone have] any information about the Khulman Community Center
in Holland ? I remember as a young girl being aware that there was
a nice small walled garden behind the center, that was shrouded
in magnolia trees or something similar. When I drove around Holland
in April, I was going to take a picture of the garden but it was
no longer there. I hope that someone took a picture before it was
torn down, and would like to know when the removal took place. If
I remember the stories correctly, the center was once used as an
opera hall, and as recently as 1984 the stage was still in place.
The center had concrete floors, and I think I have heard that it
was also occassionally used for skating parties. - Genevieve
Shockley, Round Rock, May
03, 2006
Anyone who would like to share history or photos of Holland, Texas,
please contact
us.
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