The waymark coordinates are for City Hall at 100 W. Travis St. in downtown Holland. The street was the first street in Holland to be paved with WPA funds.
Holland TX is a tiny town in Bell County. In 2010 it had a little over 1100 residents, according to the US Census.
From the time the town was founded in 1882 until 1940, its residents were plagued with having to navigate and negotiate muddy rutted streets. A New Deal-era federal WPA project started in 1940, and pulled downtown Holland out of the mud forever.
From the Holland Progress newspaper: (
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THE HOLLAND PROGRESS
Holland Bell County Texas, Friday, September 27, 1940
Holland Proud Of Accomplishments
New street paving project has lifted Holland out of the mud at very small cost to the individual taxpayer
Holland is out of the mud -- and within the next few weeks will not only be just out of the mud but will have slick, hard surface streets in place of the ready roads we been accustomed to in the past.
Human nature being what it is, there is always opposition to every progressive move -- especially when it calls for loosening of the pursestrings. It was a long hard struggle to bring our present projects up to the present state of perfection but as is generally the case, when people begin to see just how worthwhile a new project is they fall in line, grudgingly at first and then with wholehearted vigor. The old opposition is forgotten and everybody joins in the shouting.
Holland is been 58 years in the making. As late as 1912 we were still buried in the black mud during rainy weather. Same struggle took place then as we had today when some of the enterprising citizens advocated grappling the streets -- but they did it and everybody was happy. Holland is marching on and if it wants to keep its place in the parade has to stay in step, and as long as there are progressive civic minded men and women here we will go forward. Thank God we have plenty of them who are brave enough to take the bull by the horns and do things.
This year our people decided the paving would not only add to the attractiveness of the town but the convenience and comfort it would afford would bring more people to town, and when more people come to town the more business will be done here. Property values will go up and everyone will take greater pride in the community. The job is going steadily ahead. Curbing has been placed on both sides of the streets in the business district and the base materials are being laid and in a very short time will be ready for the final topping process. The project involves 12 blocks in the downtown area. Topping will start at the highway and extends westward through the business district and is far along the main street as cooperation of property owners can be obtained. North and South paving will extend one block in each direction from the several intersections. The project is going forward at a minimum of expense to the town of Holland. It is financed largely by generous allocation of WPA funds. The town is furnishing gravel, some equipment and the servicing materials. All labor costs come out of the WPA funds individual property owners along the paved streets will be assessed approximately 15 dollars per each 25 feet of frontage on the paved street, and all other costs have been taken care of out of the WPA funds.
The paving will be a great thing for Holland for all time. Not only will it enhance property values of the future, add beauty to our town and make it one of the most attractive small towns in the state with its new dress, but when we consider the immediate material benefits it is a very profitable project to everyone here even in the making.
A payroll of better than 100 dollars per day is being released, and all of this money is being distributed among our business houses. This item alone will far more than cover the actual expense which will be borne by the town of Holland. Not only is this paving a fine thing for the town from the standpoint of a permanent improvement, but it has given employment practically all of the surplus labor in the community that otherwise might have been unemployed through all these months.
Holland is a good town, inhabited by the finest people on earth, and with this project completed and others that are contemplated, we are going to have 1 of the most attractive small towns in the state. When this job is done just watch the remodeling that will take place along the paved streets. Paintbrushes will be busy too. Like breeds like, and presently our Main Street will be one of the brightest spots in the state.
This paving is not the end of the improvements planned for the town by any means. When this job is done, the next project will be lay permanent sidewalks around every block in the town -- we want to get out of the mud and stay out of the mud and have every convenience available for the use of our people that is to be found in any town. Our people deserve it and are going to get it."