From its earliest days, Holly attracts independent and resourceful people who make the best of what they have and look out for one another.
The Homestead Act of 1862 enables Robert Wyatt, the first settler of European descent, to obtain 145 acres of land in Holly. Those founding families who follow turn to the natural bounty of fish and forest to make their living.
Holly is already a thriving community when the Holly Schoolhouse opens in 1922. Who lived here then? And what were their lives like?
Who lived here then? 140 men, women, and children are recorded in the 1920 census with the predominant occupations of Farmer, Fisherman, Logger and the occasional Teacher and Retail Merchant. Many of the loggers were boarders who did not live in Holly year-round. The Wyatt, Pfundt, Stever, Aaro, and Hole families made up much of the 1920 population. There are four Wyatt families represented, three Pfundt families, two Stever families, one Aaro family and two Hole families. The families continue to show up in all the succeeding censuses. Descendants of these five founding families still live in Holly today.
What were their lives like? The daily and social life of Holly in 1919 and 1920 was chronicled on Fridays in the Kitsap County Herald. Excerpts from a lengthy submission dated October 15, 1920 and excerpts from History of the Stever Family by Ruth Wyatt Stever paint a good picture of life at the time in Holly.