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Metro Detroit Oakland County Village
Battle Alley, Carry Nation's ax and a Dickens Christmas in far northern Oakland County
01 / Why it matters
Holly is a railroad village in the far northern corner of Oakland County, about 15 miles south of Flint. In the late 1800s trains rolled through all day, and the brawls outside the saloons on Martha Street got so frequent that locals nicknamed it Battle Alley, a name that has stuck.
The Hirst Hotel, later the Holly Hotel, went up in 1891 to serve rail passengers. On August 29, 1908, temperance crusader Carry Nation marched in with her supporters: they clubbed patrons with umbrellas while she smashed whiskey bottles with her ax. Fires hit the hotel in 1913 and 1978 and it was rebuilt both times, but it has been closed since a fire on June 21, 2022.
In December downtown turns into a Victorian stage set: the Holly Dickens Festival has recreated Dickens's England every year since 1973, with 2026 marking its 53rd year. From late summer into fall the Michigan Renaissance Festival draws crowds with knights and craftspeople, and just outside the village the Holly State Recreation Area offers more than 8,000 acres of lakes and wooded trails.
02 / Known for
Battle Alley, the downtown street named for the brawls outside its saloons
Carry Nation's ax-and-umbrella raid on the Holly Hotel on August 29, 1908
The Holly Hotel, an 1891 Queen Anne landmark on the National Register of Historic Places since 1980; closed since a 2022 fire, and as of 2026 its owners are looking for new hands to carry it on
The Holly Dickens Festival, every December since 1973
03 / What’s on
Oct 3, 2026Diehl's Orchard & Cider Mill · Diehl's Orchard & Cider Mill in Holly runs hayrides every Saturday and Sunday from October 3 through October 18, weather permitting. Rides are $3, and kids 3 and under ride free.
Oct 3, 2026Diehl's Orchard & Cider Mill · Diehl's Orchard & Cider Mill in Holly offers pony rides on October 3, 4, 10, 11 and 17, weather permitting. Rides are $10, and there are no pony rides on October 18.
Oct 4, 2026Diehl's Orchard & Cider Mill · Diehl's Orchard & Cider Mill in Holly runs hayrides every Saturday and Sunday from October 3 through October 18, weather permitting. Rides are $3, and kids 3 and under ride free.
Oct 4, 2026Diehl's Orchard & Cider Mill · Diehl's Orchard & Cider Mill in Holly offers pony rides on October 3, 4, 10, 11 and 17, weather permitting. Rides are $10, and there are no pony rides on October 18.
Oct 10, 2026Diehl's Orchard & Cider Mill · Diehl's Orchard & Cider Mill in Holly runs hayrides every Saturday and Sunday from October 3 through October 18, weather permitting. Rides are $3, and kids 3 and under ride free.
Oct 10, 2026Diehl's Orchard & Cider Mill · Diehl's Orchard & Cider Mill in Holly offers pony rides on October 3, 4, 10, 11 and 17, weather permitting. Rides are $10, and there are no pony rides on October 18.
Oct 11, 2026Diehl's Orchard & Cider Mill · Diehl's Orchard & Cider Mill in Holly runs hayrides every Saturday and Sunday from October 3 through October 18, weather permitting. Rides are $3, and kids 3 and under ride free.
Oct 11, 2026Diehl's Orchard & Cider Mill · Diehl's Orchard & Cider Mill in Holly offers pony rides on October 3, 4, 10, 11 and 17, weather permitting. Rides are $10, and there are no pony rides on October 18.
Oct 17, 2026Diehl's Orchard & Cider Mill · Diehl's Orchard & Cider Mill in Holly runs hayrides every Saturday and Sunday from October 3 through October 18, weather permitting. Rides are $3, and kids 3 and under ride free.
Oct 17, 2026Diehl's Orchard & Cider Mill · Diehl's Orchard & Cider Mill in Holly offers pony rides on October 3, 4, 10, 11 and 17, weather permitting. Rides are $10, and there are no pony rides on October 18.
Oct 18, 2026Diehl's Orchard & Cider Mill · Diehl's Orchard & Cider Mill in Holly runs hayrides every Saturday and Sunday from October 3 through October 18, weather permitting. Rides are $3, and kids 3 and under ride free.
04 / Places
05 / What to do
Victorian costumes, a parade and vendors downtown on December weekends.
Official site ↗A Renaissance fair in the make-believe English village of Hollygrove, with jousts and feasts; in 2026 it ran weekends from August 22 to October 4 on Dixie Highway.
Official site ↗More than 8,000 acres of rolling woods and fields: hiking and mountain bike trails, camping, fishing and a beach on Heron Lake.
Official site ↗06 / History
John Hirst builds the Hirst Hotel for rail passengers; it becomes the Holly Hotel.
On August 29 Carry Nation and her followers storm the Holly Hotel's bar.
The first Holly Dickens Festival is held.
On January 19, exactly 65 years after the 1913 fire, the Holly Hotel burns again; it is rebuilt over two years.
The Michigan Renaissance Festival moves from near Clarkston to land between Dixie Highway and I-75 near Holly.
On June 21 a fire rips through downtown; the Holly Hotel is badly damaged and has been closed ever since.
07 / People
Population and area are Census Bureau figures (Holly village).
Change since 2020, per the Census Bureau estimate: −1.4 percent.
