Dutch immigrants settled this community in 1897 and named it for their native Netherlands, where in the 1890s overcrowding, worn-out soil, and scant hope for prosperity led many families to seek opportunity after the Port Arthur Land Company, joined by Dutch businessmen, advertised the abundance of America. The new colony thrived, although torrid summers, frigid winters, and swamps prompted a few to return to Holland. Those who remained built a sound economy of farming and ranching, now largely replaced by rice-growing and industries.