Frederic W Hardy was born of early New England ancestry on January 23, 1859, in Boston, Massachusetts. He was the son of George Dana Boardman and Olive (Andrews) Hardy. Mr. Hardy came to the Islands in 1882 on account of health, (he had a severe attack of malaria-typhoid fever.) In September, 1883, he was appointed vice-principal of the Wailuku school and was the first teacher to bear such a title in the kingdom. Hardy became principal of the Makawao school in September, 1888. He was the first teacher and principal of the Makawao School.

In 1897, Hardy added to an existing house to create what is now known as the ‘Hardy House,’ one of the oldest wood frame houses in Makawao. It was built onto an existing one room house (that was then about 10-15 years old.) The new house had a double pitch (Hawaiian) roof; it is reminiscent of those by Charles W Dickey (Hardy was friend of Charles H Dickey, the architect’s son.) Very few wooden houses of that age have survived the termites, harsh tropical climate and temptation to tear down the old to build new.