THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 15, 1995 TAG: 9510140109
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DAWSON MILLS, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Long : 101 lines
When my daughter Sandi and I set out to visit the community of Holland, the big question on our minds was, how did this Holland get its name?
When you visit this community along Route 58 just before Franklin, right away you'll notice apparent ties to the Netherlands. There's Windmill Lane, Dutch Road, Netherlands Drive and the Dutch Market, with a pair of wooden shoes on a counter inside. Holland didn't derive its name from the European country though; it's a family name.
``The Holland family received land grants in the 1600s,'' explained James R. ``Bobby'' Jones, until recently the owner of the Dutch Market, and unofficial local historian. ``The first grant was to John Holland, who was, I believe, a sea captain.''
More land grants, and more Hollands, followed. It's still a common name in the area.
One of the 19th century Hollands owned a store. According to a local history published in 1976, General Longstreet and his troops watered their horses during the Civil War at the well in front of Holland's store. Tradition has it that the general wrote ``Holland's Corner'' on the map to designate the previously unnamed settlement.
The name stuck, more or less. When the Atlantic and Danville Railroad came to Holland's Corner in 1888, it named its station ``Holland.'' That same year the Holland branch of the U.S. Post Office was established. Rapid growth followed; in 1900, the town was incorporated.
On Jan. 1, 1910, the thriving community was virtually destroyed by a fire believed to have been deliberately set by thieves planning to rifle safes remaining in the ruins. The next night, several safes were dynamited by looters but, according to contemporary newspaper reports, the take was not large. Most merchants had taken their valuables as they'd fled the fire.
The post office, a theater, all but two of the town's 26 businesses and 14 homes were destroyed in the blaze. Half of Holland's 200 residents were homeless.
Families that still had homes housed those who didn't and Holland set about rebuilding. An ordinance required buildings in the business district to be constructed of brick; many of the sturdy structures house the enterprises on several blocks of South Quay (pronounced ``Key'') Road today.
Fine, older homes line Holland's main street just south of the business district. One of them, a five-room house, served as the town's school from 1905 until 1914.
Today, Holland's students attend Southwestern Elemetary, Forest Glen Middle and Lakeland High School. In the days when Holland had its own high school, teams were known as - what else? - the Dutchmen.
The town of Holland passed into history in 1972, when it became part of the city of Nansemond. Two years later, Nansemond became part of the city of Suffolk.
Mason Lankford, the proprietor of Mason's Barber Shop, noted, ``We used to have our own police department and court system.''
Lankford isn't particularly happy that Holland has lost its separate identity, citing higher taxes and more complicated government. ``I don't think it's too good,'' he said. ``I'd like to see things back like they were.''
Even the volunteer fire department, once the pride of Holland, was replaced by a new one just out of town.
The railroad still runs through Holland but the passenger depot is long gone; only a few freight trains now pass through each day.
However, as highways replaced the rails, Holland continued to prosper and has managed to hold its own. Most of its downtown business district is still occupied by shops and merchants, unlike many other communities dating back to the same era. Jones pointed out that, as surrounding farmland is sold off piecemeal and developed, the population is increasing.
``Gradually; not by leaps and bounds,'' explained Jones. ``The town is maintaining itself.''
Perhaps Holland's greatest claim to fame is that it is the birthplace of Ruritan National, a community service organization that has grown to include chapters throughout the United States. The first Ruritan meeting was held in the Holland Hotel on April 16, 1928.
The hotel is history, having gone out of business in the '60s. A bank now stands on the site. But nearby, at Holland's major intersection, stands a monument and an historic marker noting the event. And one of the three roads coming together at that intersection is named Ruritan Boulevard.
Despite all the changes, Holland has managed to hold onto a sense of its own identity while evolving to adapt to the times. Other communities would consider themselves lucky to do so as well as plucky little Holland. Along the way, not surprisingly, no small amount of good old-fashioned civic pride has been generated, too.
There's not a lot to see, in a tourist sense, in Holland, other than the monument and historical marker. But if a community that has overcome adversity and looks to the future with confidence sounds good to you, then a visit to Holland, to walk its streets and talk to its people, could be as refreshing as a breath of fresh country air. MEMO: Your comments are welcome. Call Dawson Mills at 489-9547. ILLUSTRATION: Photos by DAWSON MILLS
Left to right, Jackita Gatling and Bertha Gatling get personal
attention from cashier Brenda McMurtrey in the Dutch Market.
Barber Mason Lankford chats with customer Paul Duke about the old
days.
by CNB