The Van Raalte Farm

In 1847 Holland’s founder, the Reverend Albertus C. Van Raalte, purchased this property from the federal government for $2.32 an acre. When his son Benjamin returned from the Civil War in 1865, Van Raalte gave him the 160-acre tract. By 1873, when Benjamin married Julia Gilmore, he had built this Classical Revival-inspired house and two barns. Benjamin was a prosperous farmer and agricultural implements dealer. When he died in 1917, his daughter Julia Christina and her husband, Orlando S. Reimold, inherited the property. The Reimold family came to the farm each summer. Julia Christina considered it her home and often came for extended visits. In 1983, Benjamin’s great grandchildren sold the farm to the city of Holland, which has preserved it as a park. The Van Raalte Farm is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.