Third Reformed Church

Under the leadership of the Rev. Albertus C. Van Raalte, founder of the Holland colony, the Third Reformed Church was organized on September 9, 1867. The first house of worship, measuring 90' long, 56' wide and 32' high, was erected on this site. In the great Holland fire of October 8 and 9, 1871, the first structure was destroyed. On January 2, 1873, disaster struck again as the newly erected framework of a second building was demolished in a high wind. The present church, a structure of beauty and symmetry, was dedicated on November 25, 1874. The architectural style in known as carpenter's Gothic. The building is of balloon frame, battened perpendicularly on the outside, finished with buttresses towering in pinnacles above the roof. The steepled belltower was added in 1891. The parish hall and education facilities were built in 1952. During the centennial observance of 1967-68, the church building underwent extensive restoration so that it continues to stand as a significant historical landmark.