to
Update
is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 22,147 at the 2000 census. South Holland also serves as the seat of Thornton Township. South Holland was first settled in 1846 by immigrants from South Holland, the Netherlands. When the town incorporated in 1894, its population was about 1,000. Originally a general farming community, it later specialized in vegetable growing, especially onion sets. Moreover by the 1940s South Holland was known as the
. The town was built on low ground near the Calumet River and was originally called
(Low Prairie) to differentiate it from another Dutch settlement further north on higher ground and called
(now the Roseland neighborhood of Chicago). The town is known as "SoHo" for short. In October 2007, Forbes.com declared South Holland to be the "Most Livable Metro-Area suburb" of the Chicago metropolitan area.
by Edna Ferber. The Widow Paarlberg inspired one of the main characters and her family farm is preserved in a city park.
The village is bordered by Harvey and Phoenix to the west, Dolton to the north, Thornton to the south, and Calumet City and Lansing to the east.
South Holland is an anomaly in Chicago Southland because of its laws. All businesses (except travel related establishments such as hotels, restaurants, and gas stations) are closed on Sunday. This can be seen easily when driving on one of the village's main thoroughfares—162nd Street or South Park Avenue. South Holland is a "dry" municipality; that is, no alcohol is sold anywhere within the village limits. Additionally, the sale or rental of pornographic material is prohibited in South Holland. The village's franchise agreements with cable television providers restrict on-demand and other adult-oriented programming . Zoning restrictions do not allow the development of apartment buildings or condominiums. These laws are a remnant of the village's religious roots as a settlement of conservative Dutch Reformed immigrants. Even today, South Holland's motto is "A Community of Churches".
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 7.3 square miles (18.9 km²), of which, 7.3 square miles (18.9 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.27%) is water.