Dutch immigrant P. Henry De Pree, whose family came to the Zeeland area in 1849, became a leading businessman in Zeeland and Holland by operating a hardware store and other enterprises with his brother William. After his election as Zeeland village president in 1904, he helped secure the city's 1907 charter and became its first mayor. For many years he also served as Sunday school supervisor in the Second Reformed Church, which his family helped found. His Queen Anne style house, built in 1899, was among the first homes designed by Grand Rapids architect Thomas Benjamin. Benjamin later worked with his son Adrian to design more than two hundred area homes, businesses, and churches. The house featured prevalent stained and leaded glass windows, white oak interior finishes, and hand-painted details, and it remained in the De Pree family until 1977.