Department of Hawaiian Home Lands | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

February 24, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Humu‘ula Sheep Station

Historically, sheep-raising was one of the oldest introduced agricultural pursuits in Hawai‘i. Sheep were originally introduced to the Big Island by Capt. George Vancouver in 1793, when he left two ewes and a ram at Kealakekua.

Sheep were being raised for export by 1809 and flourished through the early part of the 20th century. Most meat was consumed locally and wool was supplied to mainland US buyers. Wool production reached its peak in 1875 when 565,000-pounds were sent overseas.

A visible remnant of the sheep industry is the Humu‘ula Sheep Station, situated at the junction of Saddle Road and Mauna Kea Access Road on the lower slopes of Mauna Kea.

The Sheep Station has historical and architectural interest because sheep raising, although never a major industry, was carried on until the last large flock in the Islands, located at Humu’ula, was phased-out in the early 1960s.

The Humu‘uIa Sheep Station Company chartered by the Hawaiian Government in 1883, was an operation of H. Hackfeld and Company.

By 1894, the company had erected large and extensive paddocks at Kalai‘eha (named for the pu‘u (cinder cone) near the site) and also had a station at Keanakolu (near where DLNR has some cabins and other facilities on the Mana-Keanakolu Road that skirts the east and north side of Mauna Kea.)

Ownership of the station then came under Parker Ranch and operations continued for years, often little known by Hawai’i residents due to its comparatively isolated location.

Sheep raising at Humu‘uIa was given‐up in 1963 and although abandoned as a sheep station, cattle ranch support activities continued until 2002, when the Parker lease expired.

The Sheep Station site contains a mix of structures and artifacts with varying degrees of historic, architectural and aesthetic significance.

Existing structures include offices, living facilities, outbuildings, work sheds, shearing sheds, holding pens and catchment facilities.

Buildings and artifacts tell an interesting architectural story and provide a historic backdrop for a contemporary rustic experience.

The site was assessed by the State Historic Preservation Division for placement on the Hawai’i Register of Historic Places.

The historian determined that the site’s architectural interest and merit lie in “structures (c. 1900) [that] are typical ranch house style but are particularly interesting for their ‘homemade’ contrived plans and arrangements, both functional and picturesque.”

The main historic building on site consists of an office and dwelling which was part of a cluster that represents the property’s rustic character. It was originally built as a men’s living cottage and, over time, converted to office and residential use.

The structure was built in stages and consists of two distinct wings, both with gable roofs. The 1973 SHPD assessment refers to the elaborate decoration of the living room with skylight, wainscoting and carved scrollwork.

Unfortunately, the building has deteriorated from neglect and lack of maintenance. A preliminary architectural inspection indicates that the building will require extensive structural rehabilitation to meet current health and safety standards for occupancy.

The good news is DHHL, owner of the site, adopted the ‘Āina Mauna Legacy Program. One of the actions called for in that Plan and its accompanying Environmental Assessment is the restoration and adaptive reuse of the Humu‘ula Sheep Station.

We are honored and proud to have prepared the ʻĀina Mauna Legacy Program planning document, Implementation Strategy and Work Plan, Cultural Impact Assessment and Environmental Assessment for DHHL.

We are equally proud the ʻĀina Mauna Legacy Program was unanimously approved by the Hawaiian Homes Commission and was given the “Environment/Preservation Award” from the American Planning Association‐Hawaiʻi Chapter and the “Koa: Standing the Test of Time Award” by the Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture and the Hawaiʻi Forest Industry Association.

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Humuula Sheep Station-1892

Humuula Sheep Station

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August 22, 2016 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kalanianaʻole Settlement

In 1920, Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole, Hawai‘i’s Republican delegate to Congress, drafted the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act. In 1921, the federal government of the United States set aside as Hawaiian Homelands approximately 200,000‐acres in the Territory of Hawai‘i as a land trust for homesteading by native Hawaiians.

The avowed purpose of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act was returning native Hawaiians to the land in order to maintain traditional ties to the land.

The Hawai‘i State Legislature in 1960 created the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) for the purposes of administering the Hawaiian home lands program and managing the Hawaiian home lands trust.

The Department provides direct benefits to native Hawaiians in the form of homestead leases for residential, agricultural, or pastoral purposes. The intent of the homesteading program is to provide for economic self‐sufficiency of native Hawaiians through the provision of land.

“For more than a year the subject of the rehabilitation of the Hawaiian people has been prominently before the public. The legislature of 1921 provided for the appointment of a commission that went to Washington and secured the necessary federal assistance.”

“The idea of rehabilitation is not a new one; it has been the endeavor of a strong Hawaiian society, headed by the late Prince Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole, to get the people out of the cities and place them on the soil, there to work out their own destiny.”

“The newspapers have been generous in their treatment of this important subject; it has been a topic of discussion in all sorts of gatherings; it has been injected into political argument and has become a political issue, the Republicans being in favor of the plan, the Democrats being largely opposed to the idea.” (Judd, The Friend, August 1922)

Prince Kūhiō died at the age of 50, on January 7, 1922. Six months after his passing, the first Hawaiian homesteaders would move to what was referred to as the Kalanianaʻole Colony (sometimes called Kalanianaʻole Settlement) on Molokai.

Twenty-three lots of approximately 25-acres each, adjoined by 2,000-acres of community pasture were carved out. Later residential lots were added.

“The Commission selected the promising land of Kalamaula, adjacent to the port of Kaunakakai. It has this advantage of closeness to a shipping point; the obvious privileges of proximity to a community possessing a church, or rather three churches, a social hall with the prospects of a library soon to be erected; a school and other features of modern life.”

“Not only has Kalamaula this fine location, but more important is the fact that it has the soil and the water to insure the success of this first experiment in assisted homesteading.”

“Not far from the “Ho‘opulapula” lots, a field of cane has recently produced sugar at the rate of twelve tons to the acre. Kalamaula has identical conditions with the land of Kaunakakai where the cane was grown.”

“The rich soil is at least four feet deep and at one time had a crop of sugarcane, when the American Sugar Company was actively engaged in the cultivation of this staple.”

“When that enterprise was abandoned more than twenty years ago, the kiawe forest sprang up, and for the past two decades this forest has sheltered cattle and pigs, attracted thither by the abundant crop of kiawe beans that fall every summer.” (Judd, The Friend, August 1922)

“Amongst the applicants that reached seventy in number, to go back to the homestead lands of Molokai, the Commissioner of Hawaiian Homes chose last week Wednesday, eight families as the first to go to live on the homestead lands of Kalamaula Kai, and the rest, they will go later, however, only between twenty and twenty-four families total will live at Kalamaula.”

“In the selection of the commission of those eight families, it was done with them choosing full-blooded Hawaiians, hapa Haole, and hapa Chinese. At the same time, considered were their ages and the children in their families.”

The first eight Hawaiians and their families which were selected by the commission to go to the ‘āina ho‘opulapula at Kalamaula Kai were: David K Kamai, Clarence K Kinney, Albert Kahinu, WA Aki, John Puaa, Harry Apo, George W Maioho and William Kamakaua.

“Of these eight families, only three will go first, because only three of the lots have been so far cleared by the commission to be farmed at once, and thereafter, other families will go when their lots are ready.” (Kuokoa, August 17, 1922) Kamai was the first.

“David K Kamai, a full-blooded Hawaiian who is 41 years old, his occupation is a contractor and a carpenter. He has a wife and they have 11 children, 6 boys and 5 girls.”

“He is a land owner and he has knowledge of taro cultivation, sweet potato, corn, cabbage, alfalfa grass and melons. He is prepared to go at once and live on the land when his application is approved.” (Kuokoa, August 17, 1922)

“This lot, like all the others, has a frontage of five hundred feet on the government road that leads up to Kalae. The second lot is the demonstration lot, as already stated. Then come two more lots, after which is the plot reserved for the school, the playground, the reservoir. It is on higher ground than the rest of the country.”

“Laborers are now clearing the lots. The kiawe trees are being pulled out by their roots and the wood cut into proper lengths, for shipment to Lāhainā and other places. The land will soon be ploughed and prepared for the homesteaders by the Commission.”

“Seed corn is now growing near Kalae and chickens are being raised for the “Ho‘opulapula.” Efforts are being made to secure suitable varieties of taro and sweet-potatoes for the use of the farmers.”

“Alfalfa will likely be a popular crop. It does exceptionally well at Kaunakakai where as many as thirteen crops have been cut in one year. This is said to be a world record.”

“The first eight farmers have now chosen their locations and are ready to live there as soon as the lands are cleared and their houses erected. There are many children in these pioneer families; between thirty and forty young people are looking forward to being located at Kalamaula in a short time.”

“The eight heads of households are industrious, self-reliant and progressive men of promise. The policy of the Commission is not to get incompetent people out of the tenements and send them to the country regardless of their fitness and ability to make a living from the soil.”

“The idea is rather to secure picked men to make this initial attempt a success and thereby create a momentum that will spell victory in other places where the Homes Commission may undertake work in the near future.” (Judd, The Friend, August 1922)

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January 7, 2016 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Four Horsemen

“Kuhio was not an heir-born but a created prince by royal proclamation at the coronation ceremonies of King Kalākaua and Queen Kapiʻolani in February, 1883, as was also his brother, the late David Kawananakoa. They were nephews of Kapiʻolani, the queen consort; sons of David Kahalepouli Piʻikoi, a high chief of Kauai, and Kinoiki Kekaulike.”

“Kuhio Kalanianaʻole was born at Kapaʻa, Kauai, March 26th, 1871, a lineal descendant of the last king of the islands of Kauai and Niʻihau. He married Elizabeth Kahanu K Kaauwai, a chiefess of the old regime, October 9th, 1896”. (Thrum)

“The last great work of Prince Kalanianaʻole was for his people. He labored ceaselessly for more than a year on a scheme of rehabilitation through which it is hoped the Hawaiian may be returned to the land of his ancestors, to live as fisherman and farmer.”

“Against formidable and aggressively active opposition the Prince managed to consummate his plans, and the ‘Rehabilitation Bill’ is now a law.”

“Through its operation large tracts of land … will be allotted to those of Hawaiian blood who desire to return to husbandry. Each will receive a sizeable farm and a sum in cash sufficient to put it under cultivation and sustain a family until the crops begin to yield…” (Mellen; Hitt)

A few years before the passage of the Rehabilitation Law, and a few days after the return of the Delegate Prince Kuhio from Washington, four Hawaiians, assembled at Pualeilani at Waikiki to discuss the subject “Rehabilitation of the Hawaiians.”

Dubbed the Four Horsemen, Kuhio, Rev Stephen Langhern Desha, Sr, John Carey Lane and Henry Lincoln Holstein had their pictures taken so Kuhio could show to his fellow congressmen at Washington his backers that brought up this important matter for rehabilitating its people.

Later other friends joined, and they were John H Wise, Noa Aluli, Akaiko Akana, Emil Muller, Attorney CK Breckons, and several others, and they planned to first pass the measure in the local legislature.

It was introduced by John Wise in the senate and backed by Senator Desha and John Lane, and it was introduced in the House by Speaker Holstein. It was through their efforts that it became a law and it was approved by congress at Washington. (Star-Bulletin)

Rev Stephen Langhern Desha, Sr had an unusual combination of ministry of the gospel, service in legislative bodies and publisher of a newspaper. He was behind the ‘Desha Bathing Suit Law,’ requiring all over 14 to cover up ‘at least to the knees,’ or be fined.

Desha began his career as pastor of the Napoʻopoʻo church, Kona and served Haili Church in Hilo for 45-years; he was a supervisor of the County of Hawaii and later elected to the senate of the Territory; and he was editor and business manager of the Hawaiian newspaper, ‘Ka Hoku o Hawaii.’

“Rev SL Desha is in a class by himself. One may listen to this man and watch him with much enjoyment without understanding a single word of what he says. … In eloquence of gesture, no speaker of any race I have seen can equal the Rev Desha when talking in Hawaiian.” (Hawaiian Star, October 10, 1908)

John Carey Lane was a member of the territorial senate from 1905 to 1907 and introduced the bill establishing the City and County of Honolulu. He was elected by an overwhelming majority to serve as Mayor of Honolulu from 1915 to 1917.

He was an avowed Royalist supporting Queen Liliʻuokalani, and Lane “was at her side when they usurped control and dethroned her in 1893, and he was among those who took part in the counterrevolution in 1895 with the hope of restoring her throne and native Hawaiian rule”. (Mellen; Advertiser, 1954)

Henry Lincoln Holstein served in the Senate of the Republic of Hawaiʻi from 1896 to 1898 and later as Speaker of the House in the House of Representatives of the Territorial legislature. Holstein served as the executor of Queen Liliʻuokalani’s estate.

The provisions of the Hawaiian Rehabilitation Act (Hawaiian Homes Act (HHCA)) are embodied the desires to (1) build up in Hawaiʻi a class of independent citizen farmers, and (2) place the Hawaiian and part-Hawaiian people back upon the land. (Rehabilitation in Hawaiʻi, 1922)

Passed by Congress and signed into law by President Warren Harding on July 9, 1921, the HHCA provides for the rehabilitation of the native Hawaiian people through a government-sponsored homesteading program. Native Hawaiians are defined as individuals having at least 50 percent Hawaiian blood.

DHHL provides direct benefits to native Hawaiians in the form of 99-year homestead leases at an annual rental of $1. In 1990, the Legislature authorized the Department to extend leases for an aggregate term not to exceed 199 years.

Homestead leases are for residential, agricultural or pastoral purposes. Aquacultural leases are also authorized, but none have been awarded to date. The intent of the homesteading program is to provide for economic self-sufficiency of native Hawaiians through the provision of land.

Other benefits provided by the HHCA include financial assistance through direct loans or loan guarantees for home construction, replacement, or repair, and for the development of farms and ranches; technical assistance to farmers and ranchers; and the operation of water systems.

On January 7, 1922, six months after he had succeeded in having the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act passed, Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaʻole passed away. (hawaii-edu)

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July 9, 2015 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Hawaiian Homes

Hawaiians had consistently advocated for homesteading by Hawaiians since the Land Act of 1895 set up five methods of homesteading upon the former government and Crown lands by the general public. Hawaiians had applied for and received homestead lands, individually and through homestead associations.

Then, a homestead resolution was drafted and debated in Congress; The U.S. House of Representatives passed this measure on May 22, 1920. With disagreement in the Senate, Hawaiʻi’s delegate, Prince Kūhiō provided amendments and on July 9, 1921 SR 1881 passed both houses (and was signed into law. (McGregor)

“The Congress of the United States and the State of Hawaii declare that the policy of this Act is to enable native Hawaiians to return to their lands in order to fully support self-sufficiency for native Hawaiians and the self-determination of native Hawaiians in the administration of this Act, and the preservation of the values, traditions, and culture of native Hawaiians.”

“Native Hawaiian” means any descendant of not less than one-half part of the blood of the races inhabiting the Hawaiian Islands previous to 1778.

The principal purposes are:

Establishing a permanent land base for the benefit and use of native Hawaiians (upon which they may live, farm, ranch, and commercial/industrial or other activities;
Placing native Hawaiians on the lands set aside in a prompt and efficient manner and assuring long-term tenancy to beneficiaries;
Preventing alienation of the fee title to the lands set aside so that these lands will always be held in trust for continued use by native Hawaiians in perpetuity;
Providing adequate amounts of water and supporting infrastructure, so that homestead lands will always be usable and accessible; and
Providing financial support and technical assistance to native Hawaiian beneficiaries to enhance economic self-sufficiency and promote community-based development, the traditions, culture and quality of life of native Hawaiians

Approximately 200,000‐acres of land was set aside to the Hawaiian Homes Commission as a land trust for homesteading by native Hawaiians. The property and its program are administered by the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.

Pursuant to provisions of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act (HHCA), the Department provides direct benefits to native Hawaiians in the form of ninety‐nine‐year homestead leases at an annual rental of $1.

In 1990, the Legislature authorized the Department to extend leases for an aggregate term not to exceed 199 years (Act 305, Session Laws of Hawaiʻi 1990; section 208, HHCA).

Homestead leases are for residential, agricultural, or pastoral purposes. Aquacultural leases are also authorized, but none has been awarded to date. The intent of the homesteading program is to provide for economic self‐sufficiency of native Hawaiians through the provision of land.

To be eligible to apply for a Hawaiian home lands homestead lease, you must meet two requirements:

You must be at least 18 years of age; and
You must be a native Hawaiian, defined as “any descendant of not less than one‐half part of the blood of the races inhabiting the Hawaiian Islands previous to 1778.” This means, you must have a blood quantum of at least 50 percent Hawaiian. This requirement remains unchanged since the HHCA’s passage in 1921.

There are three kinds of homestead leases: residential, agricultural, and pastoral. Eligible beneficiaries may apply for one of the following:

One residential lot;
One agricultural lot;
One pastoral lot;
One residential lot and one agricultural lot; or
One residential lot and one pastoral lot.

Eligible beneficiaries may not apply for all three types of homestead leases. Nor may they apply for both an agricultural lot and a pastoral lot.

The advantages of being a Hawaiian homestead lessee include, among the many benefits:

Annual lease rent of $1.00 per year;
99‐year lease;
Lease term which can be extended for an additional 100 years, allowing lessees to pass their homestead from generation to generation;
Seven‐year exemption from real property tax;
Complete exemption of tax on land;
Minimal real property tax after the first seven years (applies only to County of Kauaʻi and City and County of Honolulu, Oʻahu);
Taxing of assessed value of improvements on property (Hawaiʻi and Maui counties only);
Homeowner’s exemption (to be filed with respective county’s real property tax office);
Low interest government loans (contact DHHL for more information); and
Ability to use the equity in your property to obtain loans

We prepared the ʻĀina Mauna Legacy Program (long‐range planning document,) its Implementation Work Plan and Environmental Assessment for approximately 56,000‐acres (about ¼-of all the DHHL lands in the Islands) of Hawaiian Homes Commission property on the Island of Hawaiʻi.

To put the property’s size and shape in perspective, it is equivalent to an area on Oʻahu from Hawaiʻi Kai to Aloha Stadium (19-miles) and Aloha Tower to the Pali Lookout (6-miles).

The ‘Āina Mauna Legacy Program is DHHL’s long‐range planning document geared to restore and protect approximately 56,000‐acres of native Hawaiian forest on Mauna Kea that is ecologically, culturally and economically self‐sustaining for the Hawaiian Home Lands Trust, its beneficiaries and the community.

We were honored and proud when our planning document, the ‘Āina Mauna Legacy Program, received awards: the “Environment/Preservation Award” from the American Planning Association‐Hawai‘i Chapter and the “Koa: Standing the Test of Time Award” by the Hawai‘i Forest Industry Association.

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December 30, 2014 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

ʻĀina Mauna

ʻĀina Mauna, or mountain lands, reflects a term used affectionately by elder Hawaiians to describe the upper regions of all mountain lands.

In pre-Contact times, these upper forested lands were left relatively untouched, as they were integral to the functioning of the ahupua‘a due to the water they provided to the lowlands. These upland forests were considered wao akua (“realm of the gods”) and were therefore protected by kapu. (Iwashita)

Small cultivated areas were located primarily in the lowlands, which were extensively cleared for agriculture. Most permanent settlement initially was near the ocean and at sheltered beaches, which provided access to good fishing grounds, as well as facilitating convenient canoe travel.

Koa tree canoe logs were cut from the ʻĀina Mauna; it is estimated that it takes up to 125-years or more to grow a koa tree large enough for a voyaging canoe.

Traditional dwellings (hale pili) were constructed of native woods lashed together with cordage most often made from olonā. Pili grass was a preferred thatching. Lauhala (pandanus leaves) or ti leaf bundles, called pe‘a, were other covering materials used.

In addition, implements incorporated into hula were made of wood and other forest products. Weapons used wood products for spears, daggers, clubs, shark tooth and other wooden weapons.

With ‘Contact’ came changes to the ʻĀina Mauna.

In 1778, Captain Cook left goats and pigs. In 1793, Captain George Vancouver gave Kamehameha cattle (which he placed a kapu on to allow herds to grow.) In 1803, American Richard Cleveland presented horses ‐ a stallion and a mare ‐ to Kamehameha.

The goats, pigs and cattle started to have negative impacts on the Islands’ mauka lands.

On top of that, ʻiliahi (sandalwood) became first recognized as a commercial product in Hawai‘i in 1791 by Captain Kendrick of the Lady Washington, when he instructed sailors to collect cargo of sandalwood.

Trade in Hawaiian sandalwood began in the early-1790s; by 1805 it had become an important export item. Unfortunately, the harvesting of the trees was not sustainably managed (they cut whatever they could, they didn’t replant) and over-harvesting of ʻiliahi took place.

By 1830, the trade in sandalwood had completely collapsed. Hawaiian forests were exhausted and sandalwood from India and other areas in the Pacific drove down the price in China and made the Hawaiian trade unprofitable.

Through King Kamehameha III’s Act No. 2, Chapter III, Article I, Chapter VI, Section VII of April 27, 1846, ‘forestry’ began in Hawaiʻi.

“The forests and timber growing therein, shall be considered as government property, and under the special care of the minister of the interior, who may from time to time convert the products thereof into money for the benefit of government.”

By the late-1800s, the sugar industry had been lobbying for forest protection, as the cattle grazing and denudation of upland forests threatened the water supply critical to sustaining the sugar economy.

A lasting legacy of that era was the implementation of the Forest Reserve System, created by the Territorial Government of Hawai’i through Act 44 on April 25, 1903.

That year, on May 13, 1903, the Territory of Hawaiʻi, with the backing of the Hawaiʻi Sugar Planters’ Association, established the Board of Commissioners of Agriculture and Forestry. (HDOA) By 1930, a million acres of land – nearly 25% of Hawaii’s land area – were in the Forest Reserve System.

Forest reserves were useful for two primary purposes: water production for the Territory’s agricultural industries, and timber production to meet the growing demand for wood products.

The forest reserve system should not lead to “the locking up from economic use of a certain forest area.” Even in critical watersheds the harvesting of old trees “is a positive advantage, in that it gives the young trees a chance to grow, while at the same time producing a profit from the forests. (Ralph Sheldon Hosmer; LRB)

And, forests are not just about trees.

Virtually all our fresh water comes from the forest, also clean air, recreation areas, habitat for native species, plants for cultural practices and woods for fine arts are among the thousands of forest benefits.

Our forests present endless opportunities for both residents and visitors; Hawaii’s forests offer employment, recreation and resources – including ecological goods and services.

Ecological goods include clean air, and abundant fresh water; while ecological services include purification of air and water, plant and wildlife habitat, maintenance of biodiversity, decomposition of wastes, soil and vegetation generation and renewal, groundwater recharge, greenhouse gas mitigation and aesthetically pleasing landscapes.

Water, wildlife and wood are just a few of the products found in our forests.

A little side note related to the ʻĀina Mauna … we prepared the ʻĀina Mauna Legacy Program, its Implementation Work Plan and Environmental Assessment for the Hawaiian Homes Commission (they unanimously approved all.)

The ‘Āina Mauna Legacy Program is DHHL’s long‐range planning document geared to restore and protect approximately 56,000‐acres (about ¼-of all the DHHL lands in the Islands) of native Hawaiian forest on Mauna Kea that is ecologically, culturally and economically self‐sustaining for the Hawaiian Home Lands Trust, its beneficiaries and the community.