Images of Old Hawaiʻi

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Colonel Zephaniah Swift Spalding

“(He) was most emphatic in his conviction – the conviction of personal experience, that Sherman’s verdict, ‘War is Hell’ is the nearest thing to an adequate characterization of it that can happen.”

“‘In all reverence, War is hell – nothing else, and no effort to prevent war can be too assiduous or too costly.  The supreme effort of every people should be not to get out of war, but to keep out; – not to win a war, but to prevent it.’”  (Spalding, The Garden Island, June 1, 1920)

Colonel Zephaniah (Zeph) Swift Spalding fought in the US Civil War.  “The Colonel was in command of the famous Seventh New York Regiment, which was the second to reach Washington, even before the regular mobilization of the union troops. … “

“They found that Washington was practically a Southern city in sentiment and population – there were more Southerners than Union men there…”  (The Garden Island, June 1, 1920)

Spalding first enlisted in the 7th New York City Regiment. Within forty days, he had received a commission as a major in the 27th Ohio Regiment and held the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in that regiment at conclusion of that war.

It was reported that, because of his service record with the 27th Ohio during that war, he gained the favor and recommendation of Ohio Governor, David Todd, and, in 1867 was appointed by President Andrew Johnson to serve as American Consul to the Kingdom Hawaiʻi in Honolulu.

Spalding, born at Warren, Ohio, near Akron, September 2, 1837, was son of Rufus Paine Spalding – Representative and Speaker of the House of the Ohio Legislature, Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of Ohio and member of the US Congress.  Spalding was named after his father’s mentor, Zephaniah Swift, Chief Justice of Connecticut, whose daughter, Lucretia, was Zeph’s mother.

Shortly after the war, Zeph was tasked by Secretary of State William H Seward to serve as a ‘secret agent’ in Hawaiʻi (December 1867) to gauge “what effect the reciprocity treaty would have on future relations of the United States and Hawaiʻi.”  (They were weighing reciprocity versus annexation.)

His mission was said to have been known only to his father, Congressman RP Spalding, to Secretary Seward and to Senator Grimes of Iowa. His reports were made in the form of letters to his father, who delivered them to Seward.

Spalding was strongly opposed to the reciprocity treaty, and was in favor of annexation, which he thought would be hastened by rejection of the treaty. (Kuykendall)  That treaty, under consideration over 3-years (1867-1870) failed to pass.

On July 25, 1868 Andrew Johnson in a message to the US Senate nominated “Zephaniah S. Spalding, of Ohio, to be consul of the United States at Honolulu, in place of Morgan L. Smith, resigned.”  (US Senate Journal) He served as such until June 1, 1869, when President Ulysses S Grant suspended Spalding and nominated Thomas Adamson, Jr to replace him.

Soon after leaving the consulate in Honolulu, Spalding associated himself with Kamehameha V, Minister Hutchison and Captain James Makee in a sugar venture on the island of Maui.

Spalding’s association and work with the West Maui Sugar Association apparently caused a personal change of heart, transforming him into a strong supporter of reciprocity, and, in 1870, he wrote to President Grant suggesting …”

“… ‘to admit duty free Sugar’ and other articles from Hawaiʻi, in exchange that the Hawaiian Government grant or lease “sufficient land and water privileges upon the Island of Oahu near the port of Honolulu … to establish a Naval Depot”.  (Papers of Ulysses S Grant, September 27, 1870)

On July 18, 1871, Spalding married Wilhelmina Harris Makee, first-born daughter of Captain James Makee, at McKee’s Rose Ranch in Ulupalakua, Maui.  In that same year, Makee’s eldest son, Parker, took over management of the West Maui Sugar Association.

Zephaniah and Wilhelmina had five children: Catharine “Kitty” Lucretia Spalding; Rufus Paine Spalding; Julia “Dudu” Makee Spalding; Alice “Flibby” Makee Spalding and James “Jimmy” Makee Spalding.

The Treaty of Reciprocity finally passed in 1875, eliminating the major trade barrier to Hawai‘i’s closest and major market.  The US negotiated an amendment to the Treaty of Reciprocity in 1887 giving the US exclusive right to establish and maintain a coaling and repair station at Pearl Harbor.

In 1876, Captain Makee and Col. ZS Spalding purchased Ernest Krull’s cattle ranch in Kapaʻa, intending to start a sugar plantation and mill.  After a brief stay in San Francisco (1875-1878) Spalding returned to the Islands, living on Kauai. Where Makee was already operating the Makee Sugar Company and mill at Kapaʻa.

King Kalākaua and others formed a hui (partnership) to raise cane.  About the first of August, 1877, members of Hui Kawaihau moved to Kauai.  Makee had an agreement to grind their cane.

Upon Makee’s death in 1879, Spalding took over management of the new sugar venture.  Spalding also started the neighboring Keālia Sugar Plantation, in which King Kalākaua had a 25% interest. The Kapaʻa mill was closed in 1884, and all processing was done at Keālia. (In 1916, Colonel Spalding sold a majority of his holdings to the Līhuʻe Plantation Company, which kept the Keālia mill in operation until 1934, when it was dismantled and sent by rail to Lihue to become Mill “B”.)

 In the 1880s, Spalding built the “Valley House,” a Victorian-style wooden mansion, one of the finest on the island.

From 1877 to 1881, Hui Kawaihau was one of the leading entities on the eastern side of the Island of Kauaʻi, growing sugar at Kapahi, on the plateau lands above Kapaʻa.  (In 1916, Colonel Spalding sold his holdings to the Līhuʻe Plantation Company.)

On October 30, 1889, having traveled to Paris as the appointed representative of the Hawaiian Government, Spalding was presented the French order and ribbon of the Legion of Honor (Chevalier) during 1889 Universal Exposition in Paris.

Prior to the turn of the 19th century, Spalding had already developed a unique diffusion process for the refining of sugar at the Keālia Mill and was processing 24-hours a day. In 1900, with the construction of a new mill from Australia, sugar production was greatly increased.

Spalding expanded his business interests in Hawaiʻi, US and Europe.  In 1895, the idea of a Pacific communication cable caught his interest.

He formed the Pacific Cable Company of New Jersey and on August 12, 1895, he entered into agreement with the Republic of Hawaiʻi “to construct or land upon the shores of the Hawaiian group a submarine electric telegraph cable or cables to or from any point or points on the North American Continent or any island or islands contiguous thereto.”  (Congressional Record)

However, a rival company, Pacific Cable Company of New York formed to compete with him.  Congress split its support, the Senate favored Spalding and the House favored his rival.  In the end the two projects killed each other off.  (Pletcher)

“I tried to bring it about some years ago. We had a concession from the Hawaiian Government which we proposed to turn over to any company that might be formed under the auspices of the United States, but we could not get the aid of the United States in building the cable, and, of course, there was not enough business to attempt it without that.”  (Congressional Record)

(Ultimately, in 1902, the first submarine cable across the Pacific was completed (landing in Waikīkī at Sans Souci Beach; the first telegraph message carried on the system was sent from Hawaiʻi and received by President Teddy Roosevelt on January 2, 1903 (that day was declared “Cable Day in Hawaiʻi.”))

Spalding expanded his business interests in Hawaiʻi, US and Europe. During part of this time, Spalding moved his family to Europe to provide his children with a European education and Wilhelmina, “an accomplished musician,” who had suffered a debilitating stroke, with access to “concerts, opera and other musical events.” (Diffley)

In 1924, due to his failing health, Spalding left Kauai for California, to live with his son, James Makee Spalding, in the family home on Grand Avenue in Pasadena.  The last few years of his life were spent in California due to failing health, and he died in Pasadena on June 19, 1927 at the age of 89.

On the afternoon of April 20, 1930, a monument was dedicated to Col ZS Spalding, built by his Keālia Japanese friends. It is located at the corner of what was then known as Main Government Road and Valley House Road, a high point within the lands of the Makee Sugar Plantation. (Garden Island April 22, 1930)  (Lots of information also from Tyler.)

The image shows Zephaniah Swift Spalding.   In addition, I have included more related images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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Blaisdell Hotel

In 1877, Captain James Makee obtained a concession from King Kalākaua to build a sugar mill at Kapaʻa and establish a plantation there.  He was the first manager of the Plantation, and had agreed with Kalākaua to grind in his mill all the cane the King and his Hui Kawaihau had in nearby fields.

Upon Makee’s death in 1878, his son-in-law, Col. ZS Spalding took over management of the both plantations – Keālia and Kapaʻa – and renamed the operation Makee Sugar Company.  The Kapaʻa mill was closed in 1884, and all processing was done in Keālia.

In 1933, the Līhuʻe Plantation Co. purchased all of the remaining/outstanding Makee Sugar Co stock and in the next year the Keālia mill was dismantled and combined with the Līhuʻe factory.  There were several subsequent managers at Makee Sugar Co; one of them was William Wallace Blaisdell.

William (Wm) Wallace Blaisdell, (August 2, 1856 – December 14, 1904) married Cora Ammie Shaw (January 1857-1920) and had 4 children.  (One of their sons, William Wallace Blaisdell II, served as fire chief of Honolulu.  His son, Wm & Cora’s grandson, Neal Shaw Blaisdell (November 6, 1902 – November 5, 1975,) later became Mayor of the City & County of Honolulu (serving from 1955 to 1969.))

The elder Blaisdell was a “native of Honolulu and spent most of his boyhood and young manhood in the employ of Captain Makee. Later he became an employee and manager of Captain Spalding’s Keālia plantation on Kauai.”

“About ten years ago Mr. Blaisdell left the sugar business and for the last four or five years had been in the insurance line. … Those who did not know him by name will recall him as the inseparable companion of Mr. Colburn, the Princes and of others connected with the Kapiʻolani estate.”  (Hawaiian Gazette, December 20, 1904)  (John Francis Colburn (1859-1920) was Minister of the Interior for Queen Liliʻuokalani.)

Wm lived on Young street, near Piʻikoi.  He died in 1904.  It was after that that we start to see references to his widow, Cora.  Several notations note she was the proprietress of the Majestic Hotel in ‘uptown.”

“The Majestic Hotel is at the corner of Fort and Beretania Streets. Fort Street cars pass by. It accommodates 125 guests. No meals are served. $1 per day upward; $2.50 to $7 per week; $10 to $25 per month.”  (Aloha Guide)

“The Majestic is the down-town home hotel, in the very heart and business center of the city, at the corner of Fort and Beretania streets. A splendid solid stone structure, with cool, spacious rooms. All cars pass the doors. Rooms, $1.00 per day, $10.00 per month up. A place for those who wish to dine at the restaurants. Mrs. Cora A. Blaisdell, phone 2744.”  (Mid-Pacific Magazine)

We next see expansion of her operations with a new property.  “Mrs. Blaisdell, proprietress of the Majestic Hotel, was a passenger to San Francisco by the S. S. Sierra today. She goes to purchase furnishings and supplies for the new hotel to be built by her on the vacant lot on Fort Street opposite the Convent.”  (The Hawaiian Star, May 1, 1912)

The Blaisdell Hotel was designed by Emory and Webb, the noted architectural firm formed in 1909 with the association of Walter L Emory (“the practical building man”) and Marshall H Webb (“in charge of the designing;”) they were prolific and sought after designers.

In addition to the Blaisdell Hotel, they designed the Hawaiʻi Theater, Union Trust Co., Central Union Church, Love’s Bakery, the Palama Theater, the remodeled Liberty House, Castle Hall dormitory at Punahou, Advertiser building, Cooke Art Gallery at Punahou, Elizabeth Waterhouse Memorial Tank (pool) at Punahou, James Campbell building and numerous other buildings connected with Oahu College, the Kamehameha Schools and public institutions.

Upon opening for business, the hotel boasts, “Honolulu’s Newest and Most Modern Hotel, Absolutely fire resisting, 64 rooms, 27 baths, millinery shop, grocery store, barbershop, manicure and hairdressing parlors, hatter, tailor. Telephone in every room.” (Honolulu Star-Bulletin, February 22, 1913)

“The Blaisdell Hotel, a three story, newly completed house, is presided over by Mrs. Blaisdell, a former and well known Kauai woman, being the widow of the late William W Blaisdell, formerly head luna of the Kealia (Makee) Sugar Plantation.”

“The Blaisdell is situated on Fort Street, opposite the convent and in the very heart of the business district of the city and this, in addition to the popularity of the proprietress, makes it one of the most popular houses in the city. A big interisland trade is also a feature of the new house, owing to the wide acquaintance of the proprietress.”  (The Garden Island, April 29, 1913)

Modern to its last degree, equipped with every convenience for the comfort of its guests, and, centrally located the Blaisdell hotel represents the last word in Honolulu hostelries, for with all its up-to-date advantages, it is built to suit the climate.  Occupying a new concrete building in the very heart of Honolulu, any section of the city may be reached by stepping from its palm hedged lobby to the street cars which pass its door. (Honolulu Star-Bulletin, November 28, 1914)

Operated on the European plan, it is situated within a block of a half dozen of the best restaurants and cafes in the city, several of which supply service to the rooms when desired. The theaters, post office and the principal stores of the city are close at hand. (Honolulu Star-Bulletin, November 28, 1914)

Naturally in a tropical country the bathing facilities are a prime consideration with visitors, and as regards this feature the Blaisdell hotel is without a rival. There has been no stinting as to the number of bath rooms of their equipment. Guests may have private baths, may share with an adjoining room, or may take advantage of the general baths of which there are three on each floor, two for men and one for women. (Honolulu Star-Bulletin, November 28, 1914)

Access to the hotel office and the various floors is given by an electric elevator, in operation until midnight.  At the office arrangements may be made for tours of the island and visits to points of interest, and cable or wireless messages for dispatch to the mainland will be received at the desk. (Honolulu Star-Bulletin, November 28, 1914)

Later (1914,) the hotel was leased to and operated by J Francis Child; he opened Child’s restaurant within the facility in connection with hotel in 1920.

Improvements were made that included a modern hotel lobby on the main floor; the office of the hotel, on the second floor, was moved downstairs and the rooms now used as an office were converted into sleeping rooms.  (Honolulu Star-Bulletin, February 17, 1915)

Reportedly, in April 1933, following the end of Prohibition the Blaisdell Hotel was the first establishment in Hawaii to obtain a liquor license. The bar became one of the highlights of Honolulu’s nightlife.  (HawaiiBusiness)

Later, a later hospitality icon (and no apparent relation to the earlier operator,) Walter Dudley Child, Sr (who first worked in the agriculture industry with the Hawaiʻi Sugar Planters Association (HSPA,) left HSPA and entered the hotel industry, purchasing the lease on the Blaisdell Hotel in downtown Honolulu in 1938  along with his business partner, Dr Donald Burlingame.

With his start in hospitality with the Blaisdell, Child became a director of InterIsland Resorts, Ltd which grew out of the Inter-Island Steam Navigation Company. InterIsland Resorts began to grow into a chain, with the Naniloa, the Kona Inn and the Kaua‘i Inn. In those early days of Hawai‘i tourism, InterIsland Resorts became a pioneer in selling accommodations on the neighbor islands and later expanded with the Surf Resorts. (UH-TIM)

(While the Blaisdell did not have the first elevator in Hawaiʻi (the first were installed in the early 1880s, one was in the Beaver Block, a two-story structure at Fort and Queen Streets, completed in 1882,) it has the last of the manually operated elevators (the “Birdcage” Elevator,) here – the operator cranks a handle back and forth on its semi-circular path, making the elevator move up or down.)  (HawaiiBusiness)

Today, in addition to independent shops and offices, the Blaisdell (1154 Fort Street) is part of the Honolulu Downtown campus of Hawaiʻi Pacific University (which in 1968 moved to Fort Street.)  Here they house the Sea Warrior Center, 1st Floor; Athletics Training Room, 2nd Floor; Faculty Offices, Suite 204; Kalamalama (Student Newspaper), Suite 314; and Mail Processing and Distribution Center, Suite 319.

The image shows Fort Street and the Blaisdell Hotel.  In addition, I have added other images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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Honuaʻula

The moku (district) of Honuaʻula includes the Southeastern portion of the island of Maui from the coastal bay of Keawakapu (modern day South Kihei area) to the rocky shoreline of Kanaloa point, seven miles south of Keoneʻoʻio (La Perouse) Bay.

The moku of Honuaʻula extends inland to what is now the southeastern face of Haleakala National Park and includes the upland regions of Ulupalakua and Kanaio. It also includes the Island of Kahoʻolawe a few miles away across the ʻAlalakeiki channel (the “rain shadow” of Maui’s Haleakalā, a “cloud bridge” connects Kahoʻolawe to the slopes of Haleakalā.)

The upper areas were in sandalwood and koa forests. Prior to European contact, early Hawaiians farmed sweet potatoes, dry land taro and harvested wood, birds and pigs from these forested areas.

Researchers believe that in the era from AD 1300 to 1800 native forests in southeast Maui areas like Honuaʻula began much lower- around the 2,300 to 2,800 foot elevation. These views are based upon analysis of bird and snail remains, common species represented in studies of Honuaʻula’s neighboring moku (district) of Kahikinui.

The areas below the west and south slopes of Haleakalā (Kula, Honuaʻula, Kahikinui and Kaupo) in old Hawaiian times were typically planted in sweet potato. The leeward flanks of Haleakalā were not as favorable for dry or upland taro. However, some upland taro was grown, up to an altitude of 3,000 feet.

The district was one frequented by droughts and famines. Hawaiians supported themselves by cultivating in the uplands, and fishing, with some lowlands agriculture when rains fell. They also traded woven goods and other items for kalo from Na Wai ʻEhā (Waikapū, Wailuku, Waiʻehu and Waiheʻe.)  (Maly)

Archaeologists have proposed that early Polynesian settlement voyages between Kahiki (the ancestral homelands of the Hawaiian gods and people) – Kahikinui, the district neighboring Honua‘ula to the south, is named because from afar on the ocean, it resembled a larger form of Kahiki, the ancestral homeland.  (Maly)

Honuaʻula (literally, Red-land or earth) is comprised of twenty traditional ahupuaʻa.  Honuaʻula was a legal-judicial district throughout the nineteen century. In modern times, Honuaʻula has been joined with portions of the traditional moku of Kula, Hamakuapoko and Hamakualoa to form Maui County’s Makawao land management district.  (de Naie)

The Honuaʻula lands are tied to the legend of the great voyaging chief, Moʻikeha, who sailed to Kahiki (Tahiti) after the devastation of his homelands in Waipiʻo Valley on the island of Hawaiʻi. One of Moʻikeha’s voyaging companions, a chief named Honuaʻula, is said to have given the Maui district its name when he asked to be put ashore there.  (Fornander)

“Where the wind dies upon the kula (plains) is the sub-region of Makena and Kula, where the mists are seen creeping along the plain. This is a land famous with the Chiefs from the distant past.”  (From the tale of Ka-miki, Maly, de Naie)

Because of its proximity to Hawaiʻi Island, favorable wind conditions, long coastline with sandy beaches and several sheltered bays, it is likely that the Honuaʻula district received voyagers from these early excursions. Perhaps this is why it was described in the ancient (AD 1200-1300) name chant of Ka-miki as being “a land famous with the Chiefs from the distant past.“

 “In ancient times, the land was covered with people. From the summits of the mountains to the shore are to be found the remains of their cultivated fields and the sites of their houses.”  (Kamakau, de Naie)

Honuaʻula’s earliest history is tied to the importance of Puʻu Olaʻi (“Red Hill” and “Miller’s Hill”.) Puʻu Olaʻi has its origin in the legendary battle between the volcano goddess Pele and the local moʻo (supernatural lizard) goddess Puʻuoinaina.

Puʻu Olaʻi, a 360-foot cinder cone forms a point and separates Oneloa “Makena” Beach from Oneuli “Black Sand” Beach. A portion of Puʻu Olaʻi further divides Makena Beach into ‘Big Beach’ and ‘Little Beach.’

Honuaʻula is also home to a number of traditional Hawaiian fishponds, most adapted from natural wetlands along the shore. Three of these are shown in old maps in the Honuaʻula, and several more were shown just to the south of Puʻu Olaʻi.

Based upon this cultural view, the earliest population levels of Honuaʻula would have been linked to availability of food from the sea and the land and fresh water resources, as well as the influence of spiritual forces and familial ties. The presence of trade resources such as dried sea salt, volcanic glass and canoe building materials as well as safe landing areas and favorable currents would all be part of the mix of conditions to determine the extent of population.

In 1789, Simon Metcalf (captaining the Eleanora) and his son Thomas Metcalf (captaining the Fair American) were traders; their plan was to meet and spend winter in the Hawaiian Islands.  After a confrontation with a local chief on Hawaiʻi Island, Simon Metcalf then sailed to Maui and anchored the Eleanora off shore, probably at Makena Bay.

Someone stole one of Metcalfe’s small boats and killed a watchman. Captain Metcalfe fired his cannons into the village, and captured a few Hawaiians who told him the boat was taken by people from the village of Olowalu.  He sailed to Olowalu but found that boat had been broken up, enraged, Metcalfe indicated he wanted to trade with them; instead, he opened fire, about one hundred Hawaiians were killed, and many others wounded.  Hawaiians referred to the slaughter as Kalolopahu, or spilled brains; it is also called the Olowalu Massacre.

From 1800 to the 1840s (in the period prior to the Māhele ʻĀina), the land here was managed for members of the Kamehameha household and supporting high chiefs by  konohiki—lesser chiefs appointed by Kamehameha III and Ulumäheihei Hoapili. (Maly)

Up to the early 1840s, land use, access, and subsistence activities remained as it had from ancient times. But by the middle 1840s, land use transitioned from traditional subsistence agriculture to business interests, focused on ranching and plantations (the latter occurring in the cooler uplands).

Modern agricultural began on the slopes of Haleakalā in 1845 when Linton L Torbert, an active member of the Royal Hawaiian Agricultural Society, farmed potatoes and corn, primarily to supply island merchant ships and California’s ’gold rush’ era.  He later planted sugar.  (The 2,300-acres had first been leased from King Kamehameha III in 1841.)

On January 23, 1856, “Kapena Ki” (Captain James Makee) purchased at auction Torbert’s plantation.  He sold his Nuʻuanu residence. (He was active in Oʻahu business and, later, was the Kapiʻolani Park Association’s first president (they even named the large island in the Park’s waterways after him.))

The Stone Meeting House at Keawakapu (also called Honuaʻula or Makena Church) was completed in 1858.  In 1944, the church known as the Stone House, Honuaʻula, Keawekapu, Makena and Kaʻeo was renamed Keawalaʻi – the name it retains today.  (Lots of information here from ‘Project Kaʻeo’ (de Naie, Donham) and He Mo‘olelo ‘Āina No Ka‘eo (Maly))

The image shows the ahupuaʻa of Honuaʻula.  In addition, I have added other related images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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Hui Kawaihau

When Kalākaua ascended to the throne in 1874, he named his youngest brother, William P Leleiōhoku, the heir apparent.

Leleiōhoku was educated at Saint Alban’s College (forerunner to ʻIolani School.)  An accomplished musician, he founded several choral societies. One of them was called Hui Kawaihau.

The Hui Kawaihau name was based on a nickname for an American missionary woman in town who preferred iced water (‘Kawaihau’) over some of the alcoholic libations the others were enjoying.

Leleiōhoku composed several songs, including, Adios Ke Aloha, Aloha No Wau I Ko Maka, Nani Wali Līhuʻe, Moani Ke Ala, Ke Kaʻupu, He Inoa No Kaʻiulani (a different song from the one with the same name by Liliʻuokalani), Nani Waipiʻo, Hole Waimea (this one was co-written with his singing club.)

He also wrote Kaua I Ka Huahuaʻi (Johnny Noble adapted most of the melody and kept most of the same lyrics of this one, and changed the spelling of the title, for his 1926 song Hawaiian War Chant (Taua I Ta Huahuaʻi.))

The Hui Kawaihau choral group had about fifteen members; it was more social than business.  When Leleiōhoku died in 1877, King Kalākaua reorganized the Hui into a business group.

Among the twelve hui charter organizers were some well-known names, including King Kalākaua; Governor Dominis, the King’s brother-in-law; Colonel George W. Macfarlane; Captain James Makee; Col. Curtis P. ʻIaukea; Governor John M. Kapena of the Island of Oahu; J. S. Walker and C. H. Judd; and Koakanu, a high chief of Kōloa, on Kauaʻi.

Their first order of business was to sign on more members and contract for the cultivation of sugar cane on land in Kapaʻa, on Kauaʻi.

The twelve organizers signed up thirty-two resident members.  About the first of August, 1877, the members of the Hui – over twenty men, with about the same number of women and children – set out from Honolulu, on the steamer “Kilauea,” on the voyage to their new home on Kauaʻi.

At the time, the districts of Hanalei and Līhuʻe shared a common boundary.  Kawaihau was set apart by the King, who gave that name to the property lying between the Wailua River and Moloaʻa Valley.  A bill was introduced into the legislature and the eastern end of Hanalei District was cut out and Kawaihau became the fifth district on the island of Kauaʻi.

About the time the Hui was started, Captain James Makee obtained a concession from the King to build a sugar mill at Kapaʻa and establish a plantation there.  He was the first manager of the Plantation, and had agreed with Kalākaua to grind in his mill all the cane grown by the Hui.

The contract with the Makee Sugar Company (under which each members of the Hui who came to Kauaʻi had signed separately with the plantation) required each of them to plant two hundred and forty acres of cane the first year, and they were to receive, in payment for their cane, two-fifths of the returns from the sale of the sugar obtained from it.

Each planter was required to plow his own portion of the tract and to buy his own seed-cane for planting.  A portion of the seed cane came from the neighboring Līhuʻe Plantation, ten miles to the south, and the balance they brought from Lāhainā.

Upon Makee’s death in 1878, his son-in-law, Col. ZS Spalding took over management of the new sugar venture.  Spalding also started the neighboring Keālia Sugar Plantation.  In the 1880s, Spalding built the “Valley House,” a Victorian-style wooden mansion, one of the finest on the island.

From 1877 to 1881, Hui Kawaihau was one of the leading entities on the eastern side of the Island of Kauaʻi, growing sugar at Kapahi, on the plateau lands above Kapaʻa.

As part of the infrastructure of the new plantation, the Makee Landing was built in Kapaʻa during the early years of the Makee Sugar Plantation.   Today, in place of the old Makee Landing, a breakwater is located on the north side of Mōʻīkeha Canal.

The Hui members all worked their share of the plantation – cultivating, irrigating and weeding the sugar cane under their supervision.  But they were all new to the business of growing cane – being mostly city men from Honolulu – all clerks and office men, etc.

The first crop was quite successful, netting the Hui over $17,000, from which was deducted the expense paid by the King for the Hui’s transportation to Kauaʻi, and the preliminary operations there – about $5000, which left enough to pay the members nearly $500 apiece, after paying the expenses.

In spite of the successful opening of the enterprise, it soon encountered dark days.  For nearly four years, troubles were increasing.

Colonel Spalding advised them to sell out to the Plantation, and thus end all their troubles; but they would not agree.

By 1881, four years after the favorable opening of the Hui’s plantation efforts, the members, disheartened and discouraged, had all drifted away, their property and leasehold rights, etc., passing into the hands of Colonel Spalding, the successor of Captain Makee as the head and principal owner of the Makee Sugar Company.

The Hui Kawaihau of Kauaʻi had passed into history.

In 1933, the Līhuʻe Plantation Co. purchased all of the outstanding Makee Sugar Co. stock and in the next year the mill was dismantled and combined with the Līhuʻe factory.

(Lots of information here from “The Hui Kawaihau” by Charles S Dole and The Friend, April, 1920.)  The image shows the Kawaihau District on the Island of Kauaʻi. In addition, I have added other images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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Rose Ranch (ʻUlupalakua Ranch)

The ahupuaʻa of Honuaʻula is primarily on Maui, but it also includes the entire island of Kahoʻolawe.  Located in the “rain shadow” of Maui’s Haleakalā, a “cloud bridge” connects Kahoʻolawe to the slopes of Haleakalā.  Nineteenth century forestry reports mentioned a “dense forest” at the top of Kahoʻolawe.

On Maui, the upper areas were in Sandalwood and Koa forests. Prior to European contact, early Hawaiians farmed sweet potatoes, dry land taro and harvested wood, birds and pigs from these forested areas.

The areas below the west and south slopes of Haleakalā (Kula, Honua‘ula, Kahikinui and Kaupo) in old Hawaiian times were typically planted in sweet potato. The leeward flanks of Haleakalā were not as favorable for dry or upland taro. However, some upland taro was grown, up to an altitude of 3,000 feet.

Modern agricultural began on the slopes of Haleakalā in 1845 when Linton L. Torbert, an active member of the Royal Hawaiian Agricultural Society, farmed potatoes and corn, primarily to supply island merchant ships and California’s ’gold rush’ era.  He later planted sugar.  (The 2,300-acres had first been leased from King Kamehameha III in 1841.)

On January 23, 1856, “Kapena Ki” (Captain James Makee) purchased at auction Torbert’s plantation.  He sold his Nuʻuanu residence. (He was active in Oʻahu business and, later, was the Kapiʻolani Park Association’s first president (they even named the large island in the Park’s waterways after him.))

But with the purchase, Makee moved to Maui and raised his family on what he called ‘Rose Ranch’ after his wife Catherine’s favorite flower.

For three decades (1856-1886), the former whaling captain farmed sugar, cattle and other crops. This early entrepreneur even planted cotton to take advantage of the Union blockade of southern ports during the Civil War.

Makee was one of the first to import, on a large scale, purebred stock. He also went in for dairying and his “sweet butter” found a fine market. In 1858 he began the rehabilitation of Torbert’s cane and the crop of 1861 was marketed in Honolulu.

He solved the area’s major problem – water.  “Makee has built a wooden house and deep reservoir on the side of the house. The troubles of the men and women are now ended by this work, they are now truly well supplied with water. This land, in ancient times, was a barren open place, a rocky, scorched land, where water could not be gotten. The water of this land in times before, was from the stumps of the banana trees (pūmaiʻa), and from the leaves of the kākonakona grass; but now there is water where moss can grow. The problem is resolved.”  Nupepa Kuokoa, Iulai 7, 1866, [Maly, translator])

“Makee’s Plantation or Rose Ranch, as it is more generally termed by the proprietor and his friends, is situated on the south eastern part of the Island of Maui, in the district of Honuaula. … The estate contains about 6,500 acres, 1,200 of which are capable of producing cane.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, September 19, 1861 [Maly])

The estate grew to be famous for its beauty, hospitality, and agricultural productivity. Catherine Makee’s gardens were the pride of the household with their profusion of roses, flowers, rare plants and shrubs. Visitors today can still admire Catherine’s circular garden beds with their flowering bounty, tended year-round.

“For one arriving by the steamer and dumped on the beach or the rocks at the landing, it is a difficult task to comprehend that above the barren waste he looks upon, there is a beautiful and busy scene…awaiting him. Not  until he surmounts the last hill and the panorama of cultivated fields, busy works, and easy dwelling, lying before him, does he realize it; and not until he has viewed it from Prospect Hill [Pu‘u Ka‘eo], can he fully appreciate the value of the picture…”  (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, September 19, 1861 [Maly])

“The nature of this land is like that of a rose garden filled with blossoms. The beautiful home of J. Makee, Esq., has no equal. … The things grown there are like nothing else seen, there are beautiful flowers, and trees of all kinds. The road passes through the gardens, and to the large reservoir within the arboretum, it looks like a pond. When he finished showing us around the gardens, he took us to meet his lady (his wife), the one about whom visitors say, ‘She is the queen of the rose garden.’” (Kuokoa, November 14th, 1868 [Maly])

Rose Ranch was also famous over the years for its hospitality. Newspaper accounts from that time period describe unforgettable parties at which guests danced until the wee hours, lauding the “generous hospitality of the worthy host and hostess” [Pacific Commercial Advertiser, July 14, 1866].

In 1874, King Kalākaua brought Queen Kapiʻolani to the ranch, and was so enthralled that he became a frequent visitor.

“The main entrance to the grounds surrounding the mansion, was surmounted with an illumination bearing the words – “Welcome to the King,” in red letters, bordered with sprays of pine-leaves. … A neat but roomy cottage was set apart for the use of their Majesties, and here the party remained in the enjoyment of the liveral hospitality of Capt. Makee. In the interim, a large feast in the native style was spread under the shade of the noble trees near the mansion”.  (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, April 1874)

From Nowlein to Torbert, then the decades of ownership by Makee, then Dowsett, Raymond and Baldwin, in 1963, the property was acquired by the Erdman family.

The property is now known as ʻUlupalakua Ranch and it remains a cattle ranch with 5,000-head of cattle, as well as a winery, a country store and grill, and horseback riding and clay shooting.

Today, ʻUlupalakua Ranch operates approximately 18,000 acres, 16,000 acres of fee simple land and 2,000 acres leased from the State of Hawaiʻi and private individuals.

In 2009, two-thirds of ʻUlupalakua Ranch was placed under a conservation easement assuring that over 11,000-acres will forever remain as agricultural lands. The land extends from coastline property a mile south of Makena to the 6,000-foot elevation, up to the boundary of Polipoli State Park.

The easement allows flexibility to pursue a variety of agricultural options, such as growing lumber, exotic vegetables and fruits and pursuing more renewable energy sources.  Maui’s Winery is on the property, too.

The image shows “Rose Ranch” in 1865, as drawn by Enoch Wood Perry Jr.  In addition, I have added other images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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