Bill Holland was born in Biloxi, Mississippi in 1946 and grew up in its Back Bay neighborhood. The area was home to many
of the city’s boatyards and seafood canning factories. His mother worked in the plants and his father served as a schooner captain.

Holland grew up playing around the various boatyards in his neighborhood, watching the men build and repair the local fishing boats. He got started building model boats made from scrap wood from the yards. By the time he was twelve he had built his first boat and had begun working in the boatyards, learning the trade from the builders.

Holland is committed to passing on his knowledge to others. In past years he has served as a master artist in the Mississippi Arts Commission’s Folk Arts Apprenticeship Program. He has also worked with a number of people on his own. Holland’s nephew, a former apprentice, is currently working in the boatyard, completing his first wooden boat.