Hollandale is a little town in the south of Minnesota. You will find it north of, but in the middle between Albert Lea and Austin. A little town but with something to be proud of.
The town is proud of their Dutch heritage. The 'Heritage Huis' is the local museum that gives an overview of the history of Hollandale. Hollandale was founded by a developer who bought a couple of thousand acres of swamp. The plan was to drain the swamp and sell the land. Who better to sell it to than to Dutch people? The Dutch are used to soggy land anyway? It all makes Hollandale a Dutch polder in Minnesotan polder.
In 1923 the town of Hollandale was established and that makes it the youngest town in Minnesota. It is also one of the smaller towns in Minnesota with currently some 300 inhabitants. It is also the only town where the state of Minnesota allowed two railroad companies to have a railroad line. The railroads were needed because the drained swamp was fertile. The Dutch settlers could feed a family of six on a 10 acres field. Compare that to South-Dakota where they had to give out double lots (320 acres) for the claimer to be able to develop a decent living.
Another thing that will strike you when you visit Hollandale is how flat the area around the town is. It truly resembles something of Holland. The wide black peat soil waves to the horizon.The area is peaceful, but we were not able to enjoy it much. When we visited, it rained. Just as if we were visiting the Netherlands.
The street names are truly Dutch: Amsterdam Ave, Rotterdam Ave and Hague Ave are accompanied by Zuyder Zee Ave and De Vries Ave. But then you are already driving out of town. A good reason to come back maybe the Harvest Festival in September. There may not be a lot of Dutch tradition in the festival, but it is a day of good local fun.
