Economy | Page 3 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

August 25, 2026 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Historic Downtown Hilo Walking Tour

Where the Wailuku River meets Hilo Bay on the eastern side of Hawaiʻi’s Big Island is the town of Hilo, Hawaiʻi. Hilo was a major center of trade in ancient Hawaiʻi, where native Hawaiians came to trade with others across the Wailuku River.

Westerners were attracted by the bay which provided a safe harbor; missionaries settled in the town in 1824 bringing Christian influences.

As the sugar industry grew in the late-1800s, so did Hilo. It became the major center for shipping, shopping and weekend diversions.

The Hilo Downtown Improvement Association (DIA) is a non-profit organization established in 1962 to preserve and revitalize Hilo’s historic district.

The DIA serves as a collaborative, community voice that works to promote, support, and sustain the history, culture, environment, and economy of the area.

One program is the Historic Downtown Hilo Walking Tour. This self-guided walking tour of historic Downtown Hilo will take about one hour if walked continuously.

The twenty-one stops along the way provide information about the town from 1870 to the present. The history of Hilo begins much earlier, however, with the arrival of the Polynesians in 1100 AD.

They eventually inhabited the shores of Hilo Bay, farmed their crops, fished, and traded their goods with each other along the Wailuku River. Changes came to this lifestyle upon the arrival of missionaries who brought with them new ideas, education and Christianity.

Hilo became a stopping place for explorers curious about the active volcanoes, whaling ships, and traders. By the 1900s a number of wharves had been constructed, the breakwater was begun, and a new railroad system designated Hilo as the center of commerce.

Two destructive tsunamis in 1946 and 1960 caused a shift in the location of Hilo’s government and commercial life.

Today, new and old businesses alike are meeting the challenges of revitalizing our city center while preserving its historic cultural character. (Lots of information here from Hilo Downtown Improvement Association (DIA.))

Here are the list of stops on the walking tour:

1 Moʻoheau Park Mass Transit Bus Terminal – Visitor Information Center
The Moʻoheau Bus Terminal, central station for the Hele-On bus system, is home to the Visitor Information Center. Here the helpful staff can provide you with information on accommodations, activities and dining in East Hawai’i as well as maps, brochures and bus schedules. It’s also Headquarters for the Hilo Downtown Improvement Association.

2 Farmers Market
Conceived and developed in 1988 by Richard “Mike” Rankin, the Hilo Farmers Market had a humble beginning with only four farmers who sold their goods from their parked cars and trucks. Today, the market has grown to over 200 vendors selling everything from fresh island fruits and vegetables to locally grown tropical flowers, special Big Island food products, handmade craft items and beautiful gifts made with Aloha.

3 S Hata Building
Built by the Hata family in 1912, this is another example of renaissance revival architecture in Hilo. It has now been remodeled to house restaurants, shops, and professional office space. In the building, The National Oceanographic Institute has constructed the Mokupāpapa to interpret the natural science, culture, and history of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and surrounding marine environment.

4 AOF Building – Ancient Order of Foresters
This building is still used by the Ancient Order of Foresters, a group whose European origins were chartered to assist members during times of need. King Kalākaua was a member of this fraternal order. The building was constructed in 1925 in the renaissance revival style with arched entryways, balconies and col-umns used for decorative purposes.

5 Taishoji Soto Mission
Archbishop Mokusen Hioki, from Eiheiji monastery in Japan, visited Hawaii after the completion of the World Buddhist Conference in San Francisco, California in 1915. He found many immigrants eager to establish a Soto Zen Temple. He gathered the followers together at a meeting in Hilo and promised to send a Zen priest from Japan. Money was raised from the newly formed membership and property was purchased for $5,500. The first half was paid on Jan 8th, 1917. A contractor was hired and the cornerstone with the inscription of the Hannyashingyo Sutra was laid in April 1918.

6 Central Christian Church
Haili Street at one time was called Church Street because there were five churches along its route. Today three re-main, one of which is Central Christian Church. It was built for the Portuguese speaking community in the early 1900’s. The two buildings on the property look much the way they did when they were built.

7 Haili Church
The first church building, a large grass canoe shed provided by the local chiefs, was completed and dedicated on May 19, 1824 near the site of the present Hilo Iron Works. The present structure, started in 1854, was completed and dedicated on April 8, 1859. On July 15, 1979, fire destroyed the tower, ceiling and some of the interior of this building. The restored church was rededicated on June 1, 1980.

8 St Joseph Church
The first chapel located on bayfront was made from pili grass and was called Saint Martin de Tours. Father Charles Pouzot, SCC became the first pastor of the parish in 1845. By 1848 the small grass chapel was replaced by a new wooden structure. In 1862 the parish of St. Martin de Tours had once again outgrown its place of worship. A new larger church was built in the area of Kalākaua Park on Keawe and Waiānuenue Avenue. On July 9, 1862 Bishop Louis Maigret, Bishop of Honolulu dedicated the new church to Saint Joseph. Later, Father Beissell purchased the property on the corner of Kapiʻolani and Haili Streets in 1915. The large community of active faithful including, among others, Hawaiian and Portuguese families worked together to build their new church. The cornerstone was laid in 1917 and the church was dedicated at its present location in February 1919.

9 Lyman Museum & Mission House
The Lyman Museum began as the Lyman Mission House, originally built for New England missionaries David and Sarah Lyman in 1839. The original Lyman House was a “Cape Cod” type with a high, steep pitched thatched roof with dormers making up the second floor. The second floor was divided into sleeping quarters for some of the Lyman’s eight children. The Rev. and Mrs. Lyman were also founding members of the First Foreign Church, a church established in 1868 for the foreign residents of Hilo. The Lyman Mission House is the oldest standing wood structure on the Island of Hawai`i and one of the oldest in the State.

10 Library/Naha Stone
Traditions tell us that the Naha Stone, the larger stone, was brought by canoe from the chiefly valley of Wailua on Kauai to Hilo many centuries ago. The stone resided at one of several heiau (temples) in the Hilo area and was said to have been associated with traditions of affirming chiefly status. Young aliʻi (royalty) infants were placed alone on the stone. If they did not cry they were said to be of high royal status. The physical ability to move the massive stone was also seen as a sign of high chiefly capacity. The young aliʻi Kamehameha was known to have confirmed the prophecy that he would become a great warrior king by moving the stone while he was in his early 20s. The Pinao Stone, the upright stone, has less certain origins but is associated with the former Pinao Heiau that once stood on or near the site of this State Library. These two great stones are associated with sacred Hawaiian traditions and are held in high cultural esteem by Hawaii’s people. Please do not sit or climb on the stones.

11 Federal Building/Post Office
The Federal Building located across the street from the north end of the park. Designed by architect Henry Whitfield, it is typical of the early 20th Century government buildings. Today, it houses government offices, including the downtown branch of the United States Post Office. The original structure was built in 1919, and the two wings were added in 1936.

12 Kalākaua Square
Hilo became a visiting place of the king who designed the first county complex at this site in the late 19th Century. The park contains a sundial bearing the inscription. “This sundial was erected in the Fourth Year of the reign of King Kalākaua, A.D. 1877, Hilo, Hawaiʻi.” The trees in the park were planted during King Kalākaua’s time, making them over one hundred years old.

13 East Hawaiʻi Cultural Center
Originally the old Police Station, it was vacated by the Hilo County Police Department in 1975. Today, it is the home of the East Hawaii Cultural Center. The building resembles a Hawaiian hale (house) of the 1800s with its hipped roof. It is operated by the East Hawai’i Cultural Council, a coalition of organizations and individuals dedicated to preserving cultural, creative and traditional arts in Hawai’i, to foster community involvement with culture and the arts; and to coordinate activities and resources among East Hawai’i arts and cultural community. The Council was founded in 1967 with six charter organizations reflecting Hilo’s multi-ethnic heritage.

14 Hawaiian Telephone Building
CW Dickey is credited with developing Hawaiian Regional Architecture in the early 20th Century. Note the high-hipped, green tile roof and the brightly colored terra cotta tiles set in the building.

15 Burns and the Pacific Buildings
These wooden buildings are typical of many in Hilo constructed in the early part of the 20th Century. The simple style that emerged is now very special to Hawai’i.

16 Kaikodo Building – Hilo Masonic Lodge
Hilo Masonic Lodge Hall, also known as the Bishop Trust Building, is a historic structure in Hilo, Hawaii. Constructed between 1908 and 1910, it was designed to house commercial space on the ground floor and a meeting hall for a local Masonic lodge on the second floor. In 1985, the Masons moved to new premises, and since then the second floor has been rented to a variety of tenants. Kaikodo Restaurant was here.

17 Koehnen’s Building
It was originally built for the Hackfield Company in 1910, with interior walls of koa and floors of ʻōhiʻa woods. The Koehnen’s bought the building in 1957 and today the family operates a store which sells fine furniture, gift items, silver and china.

18 Kaipalaoa Landing Wharf
Between 1863 and 1890 wharves were built at the foot of Waianuenue Avenue where passengers and freight were transported between the wharf and steamers anchored in the bay.

19 Pacific Tsunami Museum
This sturdy concrete building with its parapet, fluted columns and wrought iron design was built in 1930. It survived both the 1946 and 1960 tsunami and is now a museum chronicling the history of Big Island tsunamis and the resulting reconstruction of the city. The Pacific Tsunami Museum embarked on a project with the County of Hawai’i Planning Department to assess and assist businesses with their tsunami preparation and planning.

20 SH Kress Co Building
When it opened in 1932, floral designs, batwing shapes, and the terra cotta front contributed to introducing a new kind of architecture Art Deco. The interior of the store offered many shopping conveniences including wide aisles, good lighting, and a popular soda fountain.

21 Palace Theater
The Palace was built and opened in 1925 at the peak of the heyday for American movie palaces. It was originally part of a small family of theaters owned and operated by Adam C Baker, a dashing Hawaiian gentleman who was the nephew of the last royal governors of the island of Hawai’i. Adam Baker had been involved in the theater business since the early 1900s and was a well-known showman in Hawai’i. The Palace was built on a scale that had never been seen outside of the capital city of Honolulu, and it was always the grandest theater on all the neighbor islands.

August 21, 2026 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Overthrow

Some suggest the overthrow of the Hawai‘i constitutional monarchy was neither unexpected nor sudden.

Dissatisfaction with the rule of Kalākaua and Lili‘uokalani initially led to the ‘Bayonet Constitution,’ then, the overthrow. “(M)ounting dissatisfaction with government policies and private acts of officials led to the formation of the Hawaiian League, a group of Honolulu businessmen.” (Forbes)

Challenges with Kalākaua
• Polynesian Confederacy
• “(Gibson) discerned but little difficulty in the way of organizing such a political union, over which Kalākaua would be the logical emperor, and the Premier of an almost boundless empire of Polynesian archipelagoes.” (Daggett; Pacific Commercial Advertiser, February 6, 1900)

Opium License Bribery Case
• Initially the king, through his minister of foreign affairs, disclaimed any involvement. However, “To cap the climax of the opium matter, the Attorney General proceeds to acknowledge that the money was paid over by the Chinese … (H)e informed the gentlemen interested in getting the money back that he would never accomplish his object so long as he allowed the newspaper to speak of the affair.” (Hawaiian Gazette, May 17, 1887)

Extravagance/Debt
• Although Kalākaua had been elected and serving as King since 1874, upon returning from a trip around the world (1881), it was determined that Hawaiʻi’s King should also be properly crowned.
• “ʻIolani Palace, the new building of that name, had been completed the previous year (1882), and a large pavilion had been erected immediately in front of it for the celebration of the coronation. This was exclusively for the accommodation of the royal family; but there was adjacent thereto a sort of amphitheatre, capable of holding ten thousand persons, intended for the occupation of the people.” (Liliʻuokalani)

Bayonet Constitution (1887)
• In 1887, the struggle for control of Hawaiʻi was at its height with David Kalākaua on the throne. But some of the businessmen were distrustful of him. “So the mercantile element, as embodied in the Chamber of Commerce, the sugar planters, and the proprietors of the ‘missionary’ stores, formed a distinct political party, called the ‘down-town’ party, whose purpose was to minimize or entirely subvert other interests, and especially the prerogatives of the crown, which, based upon ancient custom and the authority of the island chiefs, were the sole guaranty of our nationality.” (Liliʻuokalani)

Concern with Lili‘uokalani’s Attempt to Rewrite the Constitution
• “When Lili‘uokalani became Queen, she took the following oath: ‘I solemnly swear in the presence of Almighty God, to maintain the Constitution of the Kingdom whole and inviolate, and to govern in conformity therewith.’” (UH Law School)
• “On January 14, 1893, Lili‘uokalani was prepared to ignore the constitutionally mandated approval-by-two-successive Legislatures process for amending the 1887 Constitution by announcing a new constitution in place of Kalākaua’s 1887 Constitution.” (UH Law School)
• “She did not do so because the Cabinet she appointed on January 13, 1893, refused her authorization request. The members of that Cabinet were Samuel Parker, William Henry Cornwell, Jr,, Arthur P. Peterson and John Colburn. Parker was a Native Hawaiian.” (UH Law School)

Some Native Hawaiian Dissatisfaction with the Acts of Kalākaua and Lili‘uokalani
• Robert W Wilcox – the man who figured so prominently & conspicuously in the revolution of 1889 (All quotes from Wilcox, Morgan Report)
o “Queen Lili‘uokalani brought these evils upon herself and the country both by her personal corruption, and that of her Government.”
o “I believe that if we can be annexed to the United States, the rights of all of our citizens, and especially those of the native Hawaiians, will be protected more carefully than they have ever been under the monarchy.”
o “They are naturally somewhat prejudiced against (the Provisional Government), as monarchy is the only form of Government with which they are familiar, but this feeling will quickly wear away as the Hawaiians are led to see that the Government is friendly to them and their interests. They already have confidence in the integrity and patriotism of President Dole.
o “I have repeatedly (advocated annexation to the United States) in public meetings held in this city. … but I am compelled to move cautiously or I shall lose my influence over them. I believe I am doing a good work by constantly conversing with them on the subject.”
o “I have told my countrymen that the monarchy is gone forever, and when they ask me what is the best thing to follow it I tell them annexation, and I firmly believe that in a very short time every Hawaiian will be in favor of that step.” (Robert W Wilcox – the man who figured so prominently & conspicuously in the revolution of 1889; Morgan Report)

Repeated Changes in Cabinet Ministers in the Kalākaua and Lili‘uokalani Reigns
• “Under every constitution prior to 1887 the ministers were appointed by the King and removed by him; but until Kalākaua’s reign it was a very rare thing that any King changed his ministry. They had a pretty long lease of political life.” (Judd; Blount Report)
• “It was a very rare political occurrence, and made a great sensation when a change was made.” (Judd; Blount Report) if

January 14, 1893 Lili‘uokalani’s Ministers Refused to Support Her Constitution – Threats of Bloodshed were Made Against Her Cabinet Ministers
• “The Queen retired to the blue room and summoned the ministers (Samuel Parker – Minister of Foreign Affairs; John F Colburn – Minister of Interior; William H Crowell – Minister of Finance; Arthur P Peterson – Attorney General) who repaired at once to the palace. The Queen was at a table, still dressed in the magnificent costume of the morning, and sparkling in a coronet of diamonds.”
• “She at once presented them with the draft of the new constitution, demanded their signatures, and declared her intention to promulgate the same at once.”
• “Attorney-general Peterson and Minister of Interior Colburn decidedly refused to do so, and Ministers Cornwell and Parker, though more hesitatingly, joined their colleagues in this refusal.”

The Provisional Government (and subsequent Republic, Territory & State) did not steal the land from the Hawaiian people – Crown Lands Remain in the Public Trust
• Crown and Government Lands, though under the control of changing sovereigns and governments (Kingdom to Provisional Government to Republic to Territory to State,) were in and continue to remain in the ‘public domain’ for the public good.
• US Court of Claims concluded, “The constitution of the Republic of Hawai‘i, as respects the crown lands, provided as follows: ‘That portion of the public domain heretofore known as crown land is hereby declared to have been heretofore, and now to be, the property of the Hawaiian Government …” (Lili‘uokalani v The United States, 1910)
• We now generally refer to the Crown and Government Lands as ‘ceded’ lands. Under the Admission Act, about 1.2-million acres are to “be held by (the) State as a public trust” to promote one or more of five purposes:
o support of the public schools and other public educational institutions
o betterment of the conditions of native Hawaiians (per the Hawaiian Homes Act, 1920)
o development of farm and home ownership on as widespread a basis as possible
o making of public improvements
o provision of lands for public use

The United States does not have to acquire property only through a Treaty of Annexation with a concurring vote by the US Senate.
• Annexation of Hawai‘i to the US was not a hostile takeover, it was something the Republic of Hawai‘i sought. “There was no ‘conquest’ by force in the annexation of the Hawaiian Islands nor ‘holding as conquered territory;’ they (Republic of Hawai‘i) came to the United States in the same way that Florida did, to wit, by voluntary cession”. (Territorial Supreme Court; Albany Law Journal)
• “There is no provision in the Constitution by which the national government is specifically authorized to acquire territory; and only by a great effort of the imagination can the substantive power to do so be found in the terms of any or all of the enumerated powers.” (Legal Issues Raised by Proposed Presidential Proclamation To Extend the Territorial Sea, October 4, 1988)

Here is the URL: https://imagesofoldhawaii.com/wp-content/uploads/Overthrow.pdf

One more correction to the many misconceptions … on January 17, 1893, the Hawai‘i constitutional monarchy was overthrown, not the Hawaiian race.

Commenters, please focus on the facts and if referring to the linked document. Please note the page and line number you are referring to (please include your source reference, as well).

August 20, 2026 by Peter T Young 3 Comments

Foodland

Although supermarkets existed in the islands as early as 1928; it was not until after World War II that supermarkets developed on a large scale basis in Hawaii.

Maurice J Sullivan left his native Ireland in 1927 (at the age of 17) for New York with $7 in his pocket. His first job was sacking potatoes at The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (A&P) in Pennsylvania. Within a year, he worked his way up to store manager in Buffalo, New York.

During World War II, Sullivan enlisted in the Air Corps and was stationed at Hickam Air Base. Placed in charge of procuring product for the Commissary and Officers’ Mess Hall, “Sully” would travel the island looking for fresh produce.

One such trip brought him to the Lanikai store, run by Chinese immigrants, the Lau family. The Laus had purchased the Lanikai store in 1941. Shoo She Pang “Mama” Lau and her daughter Joanna befriended him. Joanna, a McKinley High School graduate, had left her studies at the University of Hawaii to help her mother run Lanikai Store.

Soon, Sully would visit them on his days off to work at the store. After the war, the Laus asked Sully to help them run their business.

Knowing he would not be satisfied running a small mom-and-pop store and worried that Hawai‘i was too small, he declined and returned to Buffalo, NY. (A few weeks of winter changed his mind, and he returned to the islands.)

He went back to the Laus at the Lanikai store and told them he had two conditions in working with them: first, they would remodel the store, and second, they would promise to one day help him fulfill his dream of opening a supermarket.

They agreed. Sully worked there for two years as store manager.

The Laus were friends with Hiram Fong, who had just purchased some property at the corner of Kapiʻolani Boulevard and Harding Avenue in Honolulu – this became Market City Shopping Center.

Mama Lau persuaded Fong to lease her space for a supermarket. With the hard work of Mama, Sully and Joanna and $20,000 in capital, the store opened on May 6, 1948. At Joanna’s suggestion, the store was called ‘Foodland Super Market.’

The success of the Market City store demonstrated the popularity of the supermarket concept and showed Sully’s commitment to creating great shopping experiences.

From there the Foodland chain grew quickly as School Street, ‘Āina Haina and Beretania Street locations joined the fold within a few years.

The first traffic signal in Kailua was installed at the intersection of Kuʻulei and Kailua Roads in 1954. That year, Foodland opened Windward Oʻahu’s first modern supermarket across from Kailua Beach Park. (Kāneʻohe Ranch)

Not only were Foodland’s fifth and twelfth stores located in Kailua, but Sully Sullivan soon married Mama’s daughter, Joanna Lau, and the two raised their family in Kailua – right next to the Kailua Road store.

The company grew quickly, opening a store a year for the next ten years. It expanded to Kauai in 1967, Maui in 1970 and the Big Island in 1971.

In addition to Foodland, Sully opened Food Pantry (to serve Hawaii’s growing visitor market), Dunkin’ Donuts, Hallmark card stores, Morrow’s Nut House, Swiss Colony and jewelry retailer Coral Grotto. Sullivan was the original Hawaii franchisee for McDonald’s; the first one opened in ‘Āina Haina. (Sully died February 28, 1998 and Joanna died September 2, 2015.) (Lots of information here is from Foodland, Advertiser and Star-Bulletin.)

Foodland’s 1st store at Market City-foodland

August 16, 2026 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Maunalei Sugar

In ancient times, the windward coast of the island of Lānai was home to many native residents. Maunalei Valley had the only perennial stream on the island and a system of loʻi kalo (taro pond field terraces) supplied taro to the surrounding community.

Sheltered coves, fronted by a barrier reef, provided the residents with access to important fisheries, and allowed for the development of loko iʻa (fishponds), in which various species of fish were cultivated, and available to native tenants, even when the ocean was too rough for the canoes to venture out to sea. (Lānai Culture and Heritage Center)

In 1861, Walter Murray Gibson came to Hawaiʻi after joining the Mormon Church the year before; he was to serve as a missionary and envoy of the Mormon Church to the peoples of the Pacific. He landed in Lānai and eventually created the title “Chief President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Islands of the Sea.” He more regularly went by the name Kipikona.

The experience with the Church was relatively short-lived; in 1864, he was excommunicated for selling priesthood offices, defrauding the Hawaiian members and misusing his ecclesiastical authority (in part, he was using church funds to buy land in his name.)

By the 1870s, Gibson focused his interests in ranching in the area called Koele, situated in a sheltered valley in the uplands of Kamoku Ahupuaʻa. As the ranch operation was developed, Koele was transformed from an area of traditional residency and sustainable agriculture to the ranch headquarters. (Lānai Culture and Heritage Center) In 1872, Gibson moved from Lānai to Lāhainā and then to Honolulu.

After Gibson’s death in 1888, the ranch was turned over to his daughter and son-in-law, Talula and Frederick Hayselden. As early as 1896, the Gibson-Hayselden interests on Lānai, which held nearly all the land on the island in fee-simple or leasehold title, began developing a scheme to plant and grow sugar on Lānai.

They chose the ancient fishing community of Keōmoku for the base of operations, and in early-1899, the Maunalei Sugar Company was formally incorporated. Gear, Lansing & Co was the largest stockholder (Gear was President, Lansing was Treasurer – W Stodart was the plantation manager)

“The plan is that a sugar company will be incorporated at once with a capital of $1,000,000 and that 1,000 acres will be put into cane without delay. There will be no “wildcat” business in the enterprise and all persons signing for shares will be obliged to put down 10 percent of the amount desired. It is the intention of the promoters to avoid gambling in Lanai stocks as much as possible.” (Gear & Lansing, The Independent, February 28, 1899)

They developed larger support communities along the coast, cleared the lands, developed a narrow gauge railroad between Keōmoku Village and Kahalepalaoa (where the boat landing was situated,) and planted sugar cane, irrigated by water from Maunalei Valley.

“At the landing a very substantial wharf has been built, and a railroad to the camp two miles distant is in operation with a rolling stock of a locomotive and nineteen cars. Including the laborers quarters we have at the plantation fifty buildings, and the new buildings in contemplation are the pumping plants and the mill, a very respectable town and a very busy one.” (Stodart in Evening Bulletin, October 13, 1899)

Work on the plantation was largely done by immigrant Japanese laborers. “We have 400 laborers … and will have 200 more in a few weeks. The first crop will be ready to grind in 1901 and I have no doubt the yield per acre will be entirely satisfactory. The land is proving all that was promised and I have no doubt of the substantial returns to the stockholders.” (Stodart in Evening Bulletin, October 13, 1899)

Both men and women were brought from Japan, and a finder’s fee of $27- $36 per male employee, and $23 – $30 per female employee was paid to the immigration companies. Laborers were typically paid around $0.70 to $0.75 per day, with expenses for merchandise and board deducted from pay at the end of the month.

All did not go as planned.

Before completing the construction of the mill and associated facilities, and prior to the first harvest being collected for processing, the Maunalei Sugar Company went bankrupt. Sugar is a thirsty crop and the necessary water resources for the plantation were never realized.

Additional hardships arose following an outbreak of the bubonic plague in Honolulu, which led to a devastating fire and the closure of many Chinatown businesses (many of whom had invested in the Lānai sugar operation.)

But those were not the major shareholders’ only financial concerns. A heading “Business Concern is in Difficulties” called attention to the financial problems of Gear, Lansing & Company; a sub-heading notes, “Failure of Maunalei Sugar Co. a Leading Factor in the Corporation’s Trouble Kaimukī and Other Large Real Estate Transactions”. (Honolulu Republican, June 19, 1901)

The story noted, “The corporation has, since its organization a few years ago, dealt heavily in real estate, besides participating largely in the boom of general stocks that two years ago strained the entire financial situation.”

“Gear, Lansing & Co.’s largest real estate deal was the exploitation of the Kaimukī residence tract. They laid out streets and installed a modern water works plant. A large proportion of the lots sold readily, but the hope deferred of rapid transit communication prevented a full measure of, success to the enterprise.”

Plantation records during the three year period of the plantation’s operation, some 70 employees (most of Japanese origin) died and were buried on Lānai. In 1932, members of the Lānai Hongwanji Mission built a memorial for Japanese employees of the sugar plantation near the grave sites.

Some other unfortunate consequences resulted from the Lānaʻi sugar endeavor. A part of the plantation’s work resulted in the introduction of the algarroba (kiawe) tree – the hardwood was to have been used as fuel for the furnaces, and the seeds as feed for the livestock. Left untended, the trees became an invasive pest on the island.

Following the sugar failure, Keōmoku was used as ranchland until 1954. The nearly 3,000 acres of cleared land led to significant erosion and siltation that spread from the uplands to the shore, burying sites and the reef under as much as nine feet of silt. (Lānai Culture and Heritage Center)

August 15, 2026 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kapalua

The traditional district (moku) of Kāʻanapali consisted of five major stream valleys (Honokōwai, Kahana, Honokahua, Honolua and Honokōhau), all of which were extensively terraced for wet taro (loʻi) in early historic and later times.

Honokahua Valley has been described as having wet taro (loʻi) lands, although not in great abundance; sweet potatoes were reportedly grown between Honokōhau and Kahakuloa Ahupuaʻa, presumably on lower kula lands. The Kahana Ahupuaʻa was known as a place of salt gathering for the people of Lāhainā.

The Kāʻanapali District is noted for an alaloa (a path or trail) that reportedly encircled the entire island. Walker wrote: “The north end of Maui also is traversed by a paved trail. Sections of it can be seen from Honolua to Honokōhau to Kahakuloa. It is paved with beach rocks and has a width of four to six feet.” (PBR)

There are six bays located on Maui’s west shore whose names begin with the word Hono. These bays and coves are collectively known as Hono a Piʻilani. From South to North, six of the identified bays are Honokōwai (bay drawing fresh water), Honokeana (cave bay), Honokahua (sites bay,) Honolua (two bays), Honokōhau (bay drawing dew) and Hononana (animated bay).

Kapalua Resort is situated along this coast between Honokeana and Honolua. (Kapalua loosely translates as “arms embracing the sea”.)

After seventeen years of service, Dr Dwight Baldwin was granted 2,675-acres, the lands of the Mahinahina and Kahana ahupuaʻa, for farming and grazing. From that base, new lands were acquired until the holdings, known as Honolua Ranch, reached 24,500 acres in 1902.

First starting as Honolua Ranch (1912,) then Baldwin Packers (1914,) this area was home to the largest producer of private label pineapple and pineapple juice in the nation.

After mergers and other name changes, in 1969, Maui Land & Pineapple Company, Inc (ML&P) was created; then, the largest employer on the island of Maui.

In 1974, ML&P carved out 1,650-acres of its nearly 22,000-acres to form a wholly-owned subsidiary, Kapalua Land Company. That year, the master-planned community that makes up the Kapalua Resort (with five white sand beaches) was approved by Maui County.

In 1978, the Kapalua Bay Hotel opened, beginning the change of the former ranch and pineapple lands at Honokahua into a world-class destination resort complex.

In 1987, during the excavation and construction of the Ritz Carlton hotel within the Kapalua Resort, hundreds of native Hawaiian burials were discovered on the planned hotel site.

The scope of the burial site, combined with growing Native Hawaiian consciousness, mobilized protesters. Native Hawaiians and supporters rallied at Honokahua, and in late-1988 at the state Capitol, finally halting the burial disturbance. The hotel was built farther inland. (Honolulu Advertiser)

The Hui Alanui O Makena filed for a contested case hearing; eventually a plan was devised in September 1989 for the proper reburial of more than 900-native Hawaiian bodies disinterred. (Aoude)

Associated with that, the state paid $6-million for a perpetual preservation easement and restoration of the burial site. A 14-acre site is now a historical and cultural landmark.

In addition, as a result of this, Hawaiʻi’s burial treatment law, passed in 1990, gives unmarked burials, most of which are Native Hawaiian, the same protection as modern cemeteries.

In 1988, Kapalua began management programs, under a management agreement with The Nature Conservancy of Hawaiʻi, for the protection of the Pu‘u Kukui Preserve in the West Maui Mountains. (Access to the Preserve is restricted by ML&P.)

Now, Kapalua includes The Ritz-Carlton, the Ritz-Carlton Club and Residences at Kapalua Bay, the Kapalua Spa, eight residential subdivisions, two championship golf courses (The Bay and The Plantation,) ten-court tennis facilities, several restaurants, and over 800 condominiums, single-family homes and residential lots. (In 2006, the Kapalua Bay Hotel was taken down.)

Kapalua serves as the home of two of Maui’s longest running signature events, the Kapalua Wine & Food Festival and the PGA Tour’s Hyundai Tournament of Champions.

The intent of the Kapalua Resort was to provide a luxurious resort atmosphere removed from the Lāhainā-Kāʻanapali area. With that, it serves as an example of a low-key, low-density destination resort community.

A public coastal trail was incorporated into the Resort; eventually, the trail will be approximately 3.5-miles in length, running from Lower Honoapiʻilani Road through the Kapalua Resort to Honolua Bay.

Future components of the Kapalua Land Company in and around Kapalua Resort include Kapalua Mauka (640- residential units, commercial space and up to 27 holes of golf on a total of 800 acres;) the Village at Kapalua (a central commercial component;) and Pulelehua (a new traditional community for working families in West Maui.)