Although Jim Holland founded Holland, Ore., around 1877, the person who really built the town was Jack Smock, who arrived 18 years later.
Smock had lost a foot in a mining accident, but found work at the general merchandise store. He purchased the store when the owner died, built a new one on Holland Loop Road and established the Holland Post Office in 1899.
The Holland School, built in 1910, was the first in the area to have a hot lunch program and indoor plumbing. Schools were located so that no child had to walk more than two miles from home. Teachers typically taught all eight grades in a single classroom.
The town also had a hotel, a creamery and a telephone exchange with Isabelle Mellow as the operator. When a call came in, Mellow routed the call to all phones on the party line. Each house had a different pattern of long and short rings in order to tell if the call was for them.
Although not much remains of Holland, Ore., today, it was once a bustling town in Southern Oregon’s Illinois Valley serving the needs of miners in Josephine and Curry counties.
Sources: Ramsey, Roger. "Holland, Oregon History." Webtrail.com. Josephine County Historical Society, 22 June 2011. Web. 7 Apr. 2016. www.webtrail.com/history/holland.shtml; "Section 4 Oregon Caves Road Guide." Highway199.org. . Web. 7 Apr. 2016.
