The Cappon House / Isaac Cappon

Completed in 1874, this Italianate home was built by John R. Kleyn for Isaac Cappon. Erected in the aftermath of the devastating Holland fire of 1871, the Cappon House is one of the finest extant homes in the city. It remained in the Cappon family until the death of Isaac’s daughter Lavina in 1978. Its furnishings were willed to the Netherlands Museum, which with the help of the city, acquired the property in 1981. Volunteer groups have restored and preserved the elegant home. Isaac Cappon Isaac Cappon (1830-1902) emigrated from the Netherlands to the United States in 1847. After a brief stay in Rochester, New York, he came to Michigan’s Holland Colony in 1848. Here he worked as a laborer in a local tannery. In 1857 he helped found the Cappon & Bertsch Leather Co., one of Holland’s leading nineteenth-century industries. When Holland incorporated in 1867, Cappon became its first mayor. He held that office for four subsequent, but not successive, terms. Cappon was prominent in both church and civic affairs.