Waimea | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

August 5, 2018 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Wreck of the Bering

“Russians – or explorers hired by Russians – were curious about northeastern Asia and the American continent, wanting to know if the two were connected.”

“As early as 1648 Simeyon Dezhnev had passed through what would become known as Bering Strait ad into the Bering Sea. Dezhnev had discovered there was no land connection between Asia and America”.

“In 1728 Vitus Bering, a Dane in the service of Russia, sailed the same area, but at no time coming or going did he sight the American continent through the fogs and mists.”

“In June 1741 Vitius Bering tried again in the ship St Peter. On this terribly trying trip he did see the American mainland, but did not go ashore. On his way south Bering was shipwrecked a d died of scurvy.”

“Those who survived constructed a small boat from the wreckage of the St Peter. James Cook later used some of Bering’s charts in searching for the Northwest Passage.”

“The greatest commotion involving Bering’s second voyage did not result from the American continent, but rather from a book published by a German, George Steller, who was a naturalist aboard the St Peter.”

“In his book Steller gave the first descriptions of four previously unknown marine mammals – the fur seal, the sea otter, the sea lion and the sea cow.”

“The revelation of the existence of these creatures in large numbers brought Russian trappers, hunters and adventurers to the Aleutian Islands, to Alaska and down the Northwest Coast of America. Because of the profitable trade involved, the Russian American Company was founded.”

“In 1790 Alexander Baranov was named manager of the Russian American Company and was appointed governor of Russian America. … “

“The Russians would have preferred to keep the fur trade to themselves, but that was impossible … they could not guard the extensive coast … (and) the Russians received supplies on an irregular basis from ports far away. … The first Russian ships to visit Hawaii came in 1804.” (Joesting)

“From American and British traders who visited both the Russian settlements and Hawaii, the governor of the Russian company, Alexander Baranov, learned something about the resources and convenient location of the islands, and Kamehameha learned something about the needs of the Russians.”

“The general situation was obviously favorable to a useful commerce between the two places. Russian ships first visited the islands in 1804. but were not seen by Kamehameha.”

“A year or two afterwards. the latter made known to Baranov that he would “gladly send a ship every year with swine, salt. batatas [sweet potatoes], and other articles of food, if [the Russians] would in exchange let him have sea-otter skins at a fair price.” (Kuykendall)

“Shortly after, Baranov sent out (two) expeditions, American and British traders became embroiled in the War of 1812. With American and British ships pitted against one another, Baranov saw an opportunity for profit. Several American traders chose to sell their ships to Baranov at reduced prices rather than face the possibility that their ships would be captured or sunk.”

“Baranov had few available navigators, however, so American captains often continued to sail the vessels under contact to the RAC.”

“Baranov bought the Atahualpa and another ship, the Lydia, in exchange for twenty thousand sealskins in December 1813. The Atahualpa was renamed the Bering, after the leader of the first Russian expedition to reach Alaska. Its American captain, James Bennett, remained in command and sailed to Okhotsk to pick up the furs that were being used to buy the ship.” (Mills)

“The Bering sailed to Hawaii in late 1814 for a load of provisions destined for the North American colonies. After making stops at Kauai, Maui and Oahu, the ill-fated vessel made one land stop at Waimea, Kauai, on January 30, 1815.”

“At 3 am the next morning, the ship ran aground in Waimea Bay during a gale. The shipwrecked men were stranded on Kauai for more than two months, eventually receiving passage off the island on April 11, 1815 … Kauai islanders, under the rule of paramount chief Kaumuali‘i, retained the ship’s goods, including its cargo of furs”.

“It appears that Captain Bennett was livid about the whole affair. He proceeded to Sitka and advised Baranov to use force to retrieve the cargo. Baranov, however, chose diplomacy over force, sending Georg Anton Schäffer to Hawai’i on the American ship Isabella to resolve the situation.” (Mills)

Later that year, Schäffer arrived in Honolulu. Schäffer began building a fort and raised the Russian flag. When Kamehameha discovered this, he sent several of his men to remove the Russians from O‘ahu, by force, if necessary. The Russians judiciously chose to sail for Kaua‘i, instead of risking bloodshed.

Once on Kauai, Schäffer gained the confidence of King Kaumuali‘i, when he promised the king that the Russian Tsar would help him to break free of Kamehameha’s rule.

In 1817, however, it was discovered that Schäffer did not have the support of the Russian Tsar. He was forced to leave Hawai‘i, and Captain Alexander Adams, a Scotsman who served in the navy of the Kingdom of Hawai‘i, raised the Kingdom of Hawai‘i flag over the fort in October 1817.

Eventually, over-hunting greatly diminished the number of sea otters and fur seals in the North Pacific. By the 1850s, New Archangel, which once owed its existence to the fur trade depended instead on a shipyard, a fish saltery, sawmills and an ice-exporting business.

The RAC and the Russian government no longer profited from the colony, instead focusing their main commercial activities on tea importing. The Crimean War highlighted Russian America’s vulnerability to attack by other European nations.

The Tsar decided to sell in 1867 rather than lose the territory in another war. The US States bought Alaska for $7.2 million, or approximately 2 cents per acre, and Russia ended its 126-year-old North American enterprise. (NPS)

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June 1, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Gulick – Rowell House

In 1828, three new missionaries arrived at Waimea, Kauai, to aid the Reverend and Mrs. Samuel Whitney in the operation of the missionary station there. The new arrivals were the Reverend and Mrs. Peter Gulick (and their infant son), and Miss Maria Ogden. (NPS)

Peter Johnson Gulick (1797 – 1877) and his wife, Fanny Hinckley Thomas Gulick (1798 – 1883,) sailed with the Third Company of ABCFM missionaries from Boston on November 3, 1827 aboard the ship Parthian, and reached Honolulu on March 30, 1828, a voyage of 148 days. (Gulick)

Gulick was born in Freehold, Monmouth Co, New Jersey, March 12, 1797. His father John Gulick (Hulick, or Ulick, as some of his kindred wrote the name) was of Dutch extraction.

“Shortly after I was of age, I went again to N. Y. & was in the employ of the widdow Corwin, with whom I had formerly lived. This woman, Mrs. Corwin, first suggested to me the ideas of studying, & preparing for the ministry.”

“In the fall of 1825, I entered the Princeton Theol. Semy. where Drs. Alexander & Miller & proffessor Chas. Hodge then taught. There I spent two very happy years”.

“Near the close of my second year in the Semy. I was licensed, by the Presbytery of N. Brunswick as an evangelist to preach the Gospel; & on Sep. 5 1827, was married to … Miss (Fanny Hinckley) Thomas.” (Gulick) They then sailed to Hawai‘i.

The governor of Kauai, Kaikioʻewa, prepared a native house for them, of poles and thatching, but including a board floor. Within a year, the Reverend Gulick began the construction of a more substantial home for his family. He used coral limestone for the foundation and walls, this being cut from offshore reefs by Hawaiian workers and floated ashore.

Gulick’s Waimea home is a simple, and functional structure, yet well-proportioned with well-crafted detailing. It is an excellent example of a New England approach to residential architecture adapted to the Hawaiian climate.

He paid his Hawaiian assistants in goats, Bibles, textbooks, and other articles out of the “common stock” of the Honolulu preserved as well as one of the finest examples of early missionary residences on Kauai. (The Gulicks were stationed at Waimea, Kauai, 1828 – 1835, then were sent to Kōloa, 1835 -1843.)

The Gulick family occupied the house as soon as they could, although work continued on it. However, in 1834, they were transferred to Koloa, another mission station on Kauai, and for twelve years, the home stood unoccupied, except for the few occasions that needy Hawaiian families were housed there.

(Following their Kauai service, the Gulicks were transferred to Kaluaʻaha, 1843 – 1846 where he was superintendent of Molokai schools; then to Waialua, O‘ahu 1846 – 1857; and in 1857 retired to live in Honolulu. In 1874 the Gulicks left Hawaii to live with their son, Orramel, a missionary in Kobe, Japan.)

In 1846, the Revered George Berkeley Rowell (1815-1884) and his wife, Malvina Jerusha Chapin Rowell (1816-1901) (of the Tenth Company of missionaries) were transferred from the Waioli Mission on Kauai to Waimea, where they moved into the former Gulick home (that had been vacant since the Gulick’s left.)

Rowell, the son of Joseph and Hannah (Chase) Rowell, was born at Cornish, New Hampshire, January 22, 1815, and was prepared for college at Kimball Union Academy, Meriden, NH.

He entered Amherst in the fall of 1832, but absence from college during the third year delayed his graduation till 1837. The next four years were spent in the study of theology at Andover Seminary, and October 27, 1841, he was ordained as a foreign missionary at Cornish, NH. George and Malvina married on January 22, 1842, and sailed from Boston in May, 1842, for the Hawaiian Islands.

Reverend Rowell, a carpenter and cabinetmaker, substantially rebuilt the house, adding the rear end, all the woodwork for the verandahs, and a new roof. Rowell also made most of the furnishings for the house.

After first putting doors and windows in one room to ensure a degree of privacy from their curious parishioners, the Rowells rebuilt the house, then added to it as their family grew.

The Rowells remained at Waimea in the home until 1865. After that the home was occupied by various plantation manager’s families from the local sugar cultivation operations. Each made their share of alterations or improvements, but the end result was not a significant departure from the original design. (NPS)

Recently, the house was purchased by Jim Ballantine, a 4th generation West Kauai resident with the goal of setting up a non-profit organization to work in partnership with established community groups and local non-profits insure the survival of Gulick Rowell Hale Puna and prepare it for its third century as a valuable asset for the community of West Kauai.

HalePuna.org’s mission is to restore Gulick Rowell Hale Puna. Once restored, the house and working farm will provide for the conservation and study of the historically significant property.

The house will be used as a community center for presenting events and performances that contribute to the cultural fabric of West Kauai life and celebrate the building’s unique place in our community. (halepuna-org)

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Gulick-Rowell House Waimea, Kauai

September 10, 2017 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Imiola

During the mid-nineteenth century, Imiola Congregational Church at Waimea, Hawaii became the main base for Congregational missionary activities in the Hāmākua and South Kohala Districts of Hawaii. (Imiola means ‘seek salvation.’)

The first Imiola Church was a grass hut built by order of the local chiefs for traveling missionaries. No construction date has been found for the first church, although it had been built and dedicated by King Kamehameha III before 1832.

It contained a rough pulpit and a crude window. Congregations sat on mats on the ground and often were so large that the tiny structure could barely accommodate them.

Reverend Lyons wrote in his journal that at least one hundred little grass schoolhouses were scattered around his church in the immediate Waimea area.

Imiola Church’s membership, combined with that of Reverend Titus Coan’s church in Hilo, accounted for three out of every four church members on all islands in May, 1838. Lyons’ triumph was short-lived, however. Of the nearly 5,000-natives who became members during the peak period of religious revival, only 1,197 were in good standing by 1841.

By February of 1843, the first church had been torn down and was replaced by a stone structure with thatched roof and windows. Hundreds of natives helped in the collection of stones, often carrying them miles to the construction site.

It was “A large stone edifice whose extension of stately walls and two large panel doors and smiling windows, presents an imposing form and whose interior …”

“… with the addition of a boarded floor and well-arranged seats and neat simple pulpit, furnishes new attractions to the native worshipper.” (Lyons, September 15, 1841; Gulick)

Difficult as the raising of the second church was, the structure lasted for only a little over twelve years. At the end of April, 1855, it was determined to be unsafe and was abandoned.

On June 11 of that year, the roof collapsed and was described by Lyons as “a mass of ruins”. On August 29, 1855, the cornerstone of the new church was laid.

“Under the cornerstone (SW corner) was deposited a tin box wrapped in mamaki kapa – Hawaiian Bible, hymn books, newspapers, laws, etc.”

By 1857, the church was completed and dedicated. The ceiling rafters, floor, and exterior clapboard were made of koa, a Hawaiian hardwood.

Lyons’ recollections of the construction of the building list two important figures. Mr. Cairr “was engaged to put up the new building” and Alani was responsible for planing the clapboard siding. The church was constructed by the help of church members who did most of the heavy work.

Imiola Congregational Church is a rectangular wooden gabled structure which makes use of indigenous construction materials. The church measures approximately 40 by 60 feet and is set on stone footings and a dry fieldstone wall.

It is sheathed with bevel siding. Shingles cover the solid NE end and located on the opposite end is a small gabled entrance way with a curved lintel piece. A rectangular tower with crenellations and a cross crown the high-pitched gable.

By 1882, the church required repairs and between the money donated and funds collected at a church fair, Imiola was reshingled, repainted and rematted.

“There were no doors to Imiola church in Laiana’s time, and when I was little the entrance was always open. There was no other church like it, for the benches all had horse hair cushions, covered with brocaded material. We youngsters used to go in and run around and pick out the best cushions and drag them along and change them to our own pew.” (Helen Lindsey Parker; Makua Laina)

Competition with the Catholic Church, the drastic drop in the Hawaiian population, as well as the movement of many natives to coastal urban centers accounted for the dwindling congregation.

Two years before his death, a crowd which included Waimea’s young, old, middle aged, Catholics, Mormons, Protestants, and non-believers all came to one of Lyons’ services to honor him.

As was the practice, the early missionaries learned the Hawaiian language and taught their lessons in Hawaiian, rather than English. In part, the mission did not want to create a separate caste and portion of the community as English-speaking Hawaiians. In later years, the instruction, ultimately, was in English.

Lyons was an avid supporter of the Hawaiian language. He wrote a letter to the editor in The Friend newspaper (September 2, 1878) that, in part noted:

“An interminable language…it is one of the oldest living languages of the earth, as some conjecture, and may well be classed among the best…the thought to displace it, or to doom it to oblivion by substituting the English language, ought not for a moment to be indulged. … Long live the grand old, sonorous, poetical Hawaiian language.”

He was lovingly known to Hawaiians as Ka Makua Laiana, Haku Mele o ka Aina Mauna – Father Lyons, Lyric Poet of the Mountain County.

Lyons was fluent in the Hawaiian language and composed many poems and hymns; his best known and beloved work is the hymn “Hawaiʻi Aloha” sung to the tune of “I Left It All With Jesus” (circa 1852.) The song was inducted into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame in 1998.

“Widely regarded as Hawaiʻi’s second anthem, this hymn is sung in both churches and public gatherings. It is performed at important government and social functions to bring people together in unity, and at the closing of Hawaiʻi Legislative sessions.”

“The first appearance of “Hawaiʻi Aloha” in a Protestant hymnal was in 1953, nearly 100 years after it was written. Today, people automatically stand when this song is played extolling the virtues of ‘beloved Hawaiʻi.’” (Hawaiian Music Museum).

In 1886, Lyons died at the age of 79. He was buried some distance from the church on the grounds of his old homestead. With the help of Parker Ranch management, his remains were removed to the grounds of Imiola Church in April, 1939. (Nelia and I were married at Imiola, seventeen years ago, today.)

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P-06 View of Waimea

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Imiola_Church,_Waimea,_Hawaii-(WC)

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Grave site of Lorenzo Lyons, at the ‘Imiola congregational church in Waimea (Hawaii County), Hawaii. He designed the church and died in 1886-(WC)

July 20, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Bishop Bank – Waimea

Charles Reed Bishop was born January 25, 1822 in Glens Falls, New York; his father was a toll collector who worked on a toll booth in the middle of the Hudson River. Glens Falls was later known as “Hometown USA,” a title given to it by Look Magazine in 1944.

Shortly after his brother was born (1824,) his mother became ill and died a few weeks later. Her older sister, Lucy, takes the two-year old to Fort Ann, New York to live with her awhile.

He then went to live with his paternal grandfather, Jesse. He didn’t have much schooling, attending Glens Falls Academy for 7th and 8th grades, his only years of formal schooling.

After leaving school, he was a clerk for Nelson J Warren, the largest business in Warrensburgh, New York. He learns bartering, bookkeeping, taking inventory, maintenance and janitorial duties.

At about the age of 20 (in 1842,) the younger worked as a bookkeeper and head clerk for Charles Dewey in the Old Stone Store in Sandy Hill.

He then sailed (February 23, 1846) for the continent’s west coast aboard the ‘Henry,’ however the ship needed extensive repairs and landed at Honolulu Harbor on October 12, 1846.

He became ‘Hawaiʻi’s First Banker’ and formed Bishop & Co Bank in 1858. The Bishop Bank Building at 63 Merchant Street was the earliest of the Italianate (or Renaissance Revival) structures on the street, built in 1878 and designed by Thomas J. Baker (one of the architects of ʻIolani Palace.)

In 1895, Samuel M Damon bought Bishop & Co. from founder Charles Bishop. After the turn of the century the bank started opening neighbor island branches, including the Waimea branch on Kauai in 1911.

The Waimea branch at one time served the entire island of Kauai. As the economy of the island developed, however, additional branches on that and other islands were opened. The Bank incorporated as Bank of Bishop & Co. Ltd in 1919.

(After some mergers, in 1956 it was renamed Bishop National Bank of Hawai‘i; in 1960, First National Bank of Hawai‘i; then, in 1969, First Hawaiian Bank.) (FHB)

“One of the oldest and most reliable banking institutions in the Territory is Bishop’s Bank. With head offices in Honolulu, it has branch banks in Waimea, Kauai, and Hilo, Hawaii, both of which are conducted in the same prompt and highly satisfactory manner.”

“The bank issues Commercial and travelers’ Letters of credit, available to all parts of the world. All business entrusted to this institution or to either of its branch houses, receives prompt attention.” (The Garden Island, April 29, 1913)

On December 29, 1929, construction was completed on the Bishop National Bank of Hawaii’s Waimea Branch. It replaced an earlier structure on the same site which had been built in 1911.

Its eclectic style and solid, imposing appearance is typical of post-World War I banking architecture. It is designed to give an aura of permanence and stability a visual assurance to Waimea’s inhabitants that the bank was ‘here to stay.’ (NPS)

Like many buildings in Waimea, the first floor was constructed three feet off the ground to protect against flooding. This presented an opportunity for the architect to create an important entry porch.

Stairs lead up to the main entry, which is flanked on each side by two classic columns of simple Ionic order supporting an entablature above which a dental cornice with crown mould surrounds the building, topped by a partially balustraded parapet.

Although a small structure, it contributes a sense of permanence and solidity. The exterior has retained most of its original appearance; however, extensive remodeling to the bank interior has altered the appearance from the typical 1920s era banking structure.

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January 4, 2017 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Pōhaku Lele

The Haʻi ʻolelo (oral history) of Waimea, according to Hawaiian historian Sam Kamakau (who was from Waialua, O‘ahu,) begins with the high chief Kamapuaʻa. Kamapuaʻa, according to traditional history, was given a gift from the Kahuna Nui (high priest) Kahiki‘ula.

The gift was all the lands that begin with the word Wai. The word Waimea means “sacred water.” Prior to the eleventh century, little is known about the kanaka (people) who lived in the ahupuaʻa of Waimea. The valley may have been settled a lot earlier. (pupukeawaimea)

“The Valley of the Priests,” gained its title around 1090, when the ruler of O‘ahu, Kamapuaʻa (who would later be elevated in legend to demigod status as the familiar pig deity) awarded the land to the high priest Lono-a-wohi.

From that time until Western contact and the overturn of the indigenous Hawaiian religion, the land belonged to the kahuna nui (high priests) of the Pa‘ao line. (Kennedy)

After Captain Cook was killed at Kealakekua Bay in 1779, Captain Charles Clerke took command of his ships, Resolution and Discovery. Searching to restock their water supply, they anchored off Waimea Bay in 1779. This was the first known contact of the white man on the island of Oʻahu.

Cook’s lieutenant, James King, who captained the Resolution, commented that the setting “… was as beautiful as any Island we have seen, and appear’d very well Cultivated and Popular.” (HJH)

King noted that the vista on this side of Oʻahu, “was by far the most beautiful country of any in the Group … the Valleys look’d exceedingly pleasant … charmed with the narrow border full of villages, & the Moderate hills that rose behind them.” (HJH)

Clerke wrote in his journal: “On landing I was reciev’d with every token of respect and friendship by a great number of the Natives who were collected upon the occasion; they every one of them prostrated themselves around me which is the first mark of respect at these Isles.” (Kennedy, OHA)

Clerke further noted, “I stood into a Bay to the W(est)ward of this point the Eastern Shore of which was far the most beautifull Country we have yet seen among these Isles, here was a fine expanse of Low Land bounteously cloath’d with Verdure, on which were situate many large Villages and extensive plantations; at the Water side it terminated in a fine sloping, sand Beach.”

“This Bay, its Geographical situation consider’d is by no means a bad Roadsted, being shelterd from the (winds) with a good depth of Water and a fine firm sandy Bottom, it lays on the NW side of this island of Wouahoo … surrounded by a fine pleasant fertile Country.” (HJH)

Kamehameha took the island of O‘ahu in 1795, and he gave Waimea Valley to Hewahewa, his Kahuna Nui. He was the last Kahuna to preside over the heiau (temples) in the valley. Hewahewa died in 1837 and is buried in Waimea Valley. (pupukeawaimea)

In 1826, Hiram Bingham, accompanied by Queen Kaʻahumanu, visited Waimea to preach the gospel and noted, “Saturday (we) reached Waimea … the residence of Hewahewa, the old high priest of Hawaiian superstition, by whom we were welcomed ….”

“The inhabitants of the place assembled with representatives of almost every district of this island, to hear of the great salvation, and to bow before Jehovah, the God of heaven.”

“There were now seen the queen of the group and her sister, and teachers, kindly recommending to her people the duties of Christianity, attention to schools, and a quiet submission, as good subjects, to the laws of the land.” (Bingham)

Reportedly, Waimea was a favored sandalwood source during the 1800s; cargo ships would anchor offshore to load sandalwood. However, by the 1830s, sandalwood was disappearing and soon the trade came to a halt.

From 1894 to 1898, a series of floods devastated the valley including homes and crops of approximately 1,000 native Hawaiians. In 1929, Castle & Cooke acquired the land and leased it to cattle ranchers.

In the 1950s, sand was trucked from Waimea Bay Beach to replenish eroding sand at Waikiki Beach. Reportedly, over 200,000-tons of sand at Waimea Bay was removed to fill beaches in Waikiki and elsewhere.

1884 maps note a ‘Table Rock,’ completely surrounded by sand near the water’s edge on the Haleiwa side of the bay. They say, before the sand excavation, if you would have tried to jump off that rock, you would have jumped about six feet down into the sand below. (Early photographs of the area illustrate that.)

Some reference it as Pōhaku Lele (literally, fly or jump rock – however, given the prior context of the beach, that doesn’t sound like a traditional name.)

Folks now tend to call it “Jump Rock;” when we were kids, we called it something else. There was a certain element with an attitude that also liked to jump off the rock – occasionally, they exerted pressure and precluded others from climbing on.

It’s on the west side of the bay. In summer, when there is no surf, it is a popular place for folks to stand around and eventually jump off (during the winter, the surf is too high to even think of going onto it.)

It’s about 25-feet high and the water is deep enough on the outer edge to cautiously jump. Most people look at this as a rock-jumping thrill.

What people may not know is that there is an underwater natural tunnel through the center of the rock that you can swim through. I did it … once. No mask, no fins. With the blur of the salt water without a mask, you can only see light on the other side and that guides you through.

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