In many ways, the history of Holly is like the history of many Midwest communities—indigenous people created many of the trails, like the Saginaw Trail, and used many of the waterways that shaped the community and County we know today. Mills were built in the 1840s, the railroad first came through in the 1850s, and Holly became the first railroad junction in Michigan in 1864. As many as 25 trains per day were stopping in Holly at the peak of rail travel, and Holly businesses catered to these travelers with hotels, saloons, and shops. The downtown architecture still reflects this era of prosperity.

In the 1970s, preservation-based economic development took hold, and Holly became an early adopter of a local historic district ordinance. Today, Holly is a thriving small town with a vibrant Main Street and several preservation efforts underway. The preservation-based Main Street approach continues to be the economic development strategy in use in Holly and in many communities in Oakland County today. We have many Main Street successes from which to learn, and we examine new approaches to the challenges we all face.

• What will preservation-based economic development look like post-2020?
• How are members of underrepresented communities preserving their stories and significant places, and how can preservationists at large shine a light on these efforts and broaden and diversify the field of historic preservation?
• How can we preserve rural landscapes and farmsteads that add character to communities but are threatened by development?

Let’s connect with each other through Holly in 2021!