General | Page 231 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

September 24, 2016 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Marconi Wireless

Until 1840 any immediate communication between human beings was limited to the range of the eye or the ear. In nations such as France, Russia and Great Britain, fire signal towers stretched the length of the country to serve as early warning systems.

During the nineteenth century scientists and inventors came to better understand electricity’s ability to transmit sound, and with this understanding came such inventions as the telegraph by Samuel Morse in 1840, the telephone by Alexander Graham Bell in 1875, and the phonograph by Thomas Alva Edison in 1877.

In addition to these new wonders came such scientific advances as James Clerk Maxwell’s 1865 theory, which postulated electromagnetic waves existed and moved at a uniform speed, but varied in length and frequency.

In 1888, Heinrich Hertz proved this theory by demonstrating that electricity could bridge a gap from one coil to produce a current in another. These all laid the groundwork for humanity’s delving into the possibility of wireless communication.

Then came Guglielmo Marconi (who was born at Bologna, Italy on April 25, 1874.) In 1895, he began laboratory experiments at his father’s country estate where he succeeded in sending wireless signals over a distance of one and a half miles.

In 1900, he took out his famous patent No. 7777 for “tuned or syntonic telegraphy” and, on an historic day in December 1901, determined to prove that wireless waves were not affected by the curvature of the Earth.

He used his system for transmitting the first wireless signals across the Atlantic between Poldhu, Cornwall, and St. John’s, Newfoundland, a distance of 2,100 miles. (Nobel Prize)

In the Islands, “Telegraph communication seems likely soon to be in operation between our islands. Marconi has successfully sent telegrams across the British channel without wire.”

“An invisible electric ray is flashed from lofty mast, directed to receiver thirty miles away, which records it. So Hawai‘i will not need an inter-island cable. Rain, fog and darkness do not obstruct the ray.” (The Friend, May 1, 1899)

Then interisland wireless came; “Just about the latest wonder accomplished by science is telegraphing without wires, communicating between far distant and mutually invisible points by means of the ether which is believed to exist as a sort of cement holding the molecules of the atmosphere together.”

“Today Hawaiians will be given their first opportunity of witnessing the workings of this marvel the marvel by which a young Italian boy named Marconi astonished the world a few years ago.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, June 16, 1900)

Then, the American Marconi Company began establishing global coverage with long distance, paired sending and receiving stations not only in England, France and the United States, but also Spain, Italy, Egypt, India, and Argentina.

Hawaii was viewed as a bridge facilitating wireless communication between California, Hawaii and Japan as well as Australia; he planned facilities at Koko Head and Kahuku. At the time of Kahuku’s opening, it was the largest wireless telegraph station in the world in terms of capacity and power.

Everything in the plant was in duplicate, the one system backing up the other, so there was no reason to have to shut down operations because of a need to undertake repairs. (NPS) “Quite a large staff is housed in the Marconi Hotel, some operators and some engineers.” (Marconi Service News)

“Besides being included in the great chain of wireless stations which are to be erected by the Marconi Company, Hawai‘i has been favored with being selected as the site for the largest wireless station in the world.”

“While situated in the middle of the Pacific ocean, isolated, as it were, from the rest of the world except for a single cable and a wireless station only capable of working at night …”

“… Hawai‘i will be able to throw off this isolation with the coming of the Marconi system, get into a more complete touch with the rest of the world, and be drawn into closer relations with the country of which it is a territory.” (Star Bulletin, April 19, 1913)

The transoceanic stations were officially opened on September 24, 1914, approximately two months after the start of World War I in Europe. (NPS)

The first message (from Governor Lucius Pinkham to President Woodrow Wilson) read, “With time and distance annihilated and space subdued through wireless triumphs and impulse …”

“… the Territory of Hawai‘i conveys its greetings, profound respect and sympathy to Woodrow Wilson, president of the United States, as he so earnestly seeks the blessings of peace and good will for all men and all nations. (Star Bulletin, September 24, 1914)

President responded with a short, “May God bring the nation together in thought and purpose and lasting peace.” (NPS)

“Today marks a new era in transpacific and world-communication for the people of Hawai‘i. With the opening of two great wifeless stations on Oahu by the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America ‘’

“… Uncle Sam’s midpacific territory is brought closer and is bound closer than ever to her sister commonwealth of the mainland.” (Star Bulletin to Associated Press, September 24, 1914)

The Marconi Wireless Telegraph Station at Kahuku includes four buildings: the power house/operating building, hotel, administration building, and manager’s cottage.

With the end of WWI, Radio Corporation of America (RCA) took over the facility; then, preparations and defense facilities, in anticipation of WWII, started popping up on the island.

The north-Oʻahu facility was under the overall command of the Hawaiian Air Force (HAF) headquartered at Hickam, Oʻahu. The HAF was activated on October 28, 1940, as the first air force outside the Continental US. (Bennett)

On November 25, 1941, Army Engineers took over the RCA facility and started constructing an Army Air Base in and around it. (They also constructed two other North Shore airfields at Kawaihāpai (Mokuleʻia/Dillingham) and Haleiwa.)

The old Marconi/RCA administration building was converted into air base headquarters and Commanding Officer’s quarters. The RCA buildings, with the exception of the powerhouse/operating building, were also used by the air field.

The hotel became the base headquarters, the administration building housed base operations, and the manager’s house became the commanding officer’s quarters.

The usual theater of operations support buildings were constructed (i.e., control tower, barracks for enlisted men, officer’s quarters, mess halls, chapel, dispensaries, cold storage, two fire stations, paint shop, Post Exchange, radio station, telephone exchange, etc.)

The April 1, 1946 tsunami devastated the Kahuku Air Base, destroying numerous buildings and covering the runways with debris. Following this tidal wave, military air operations ceased at Kahuku and sometime between June 12, 1946 and March 1947 the lands were returned to Campbell Estate.

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Kahuku Marconi

Marconi Wireless

Marconi Wireless-Power house

Kahuku-Marconi

Marconi_Wireless

Marconi_Wireless-Power house

Marconi-UH

Kahuku_HI_-runways-radio_towers-1955

Marconi_Wireless-abandoned facilities

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Marconi_Wireless-abandoned facilities-cassiday

Marconi_Wireless-abandoned_facilities_being_repaired-cassiday

September 20, 2016 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Lauhala

A traditional hale (thatched house) would seem sparsely furnished. The best thatch used by the Hawaiians was pili grass; next came the leaf of the pandanus, lauhala; then the leaf of the sugar-cane, and lastly the ti leaf, and a number of inferior grasses. (Malo)

Over the floor of smooth pebbles lay many layers of mats, both coarse floor mats and fine sleeping mats; their number was dependent upon the rank of the residents.

There were kapa bedding and pillows of several kinds but no chairs, tables, cabinets, or other furniture per se. Nor would many personal items be in evidence. Makaʻāinana had few belongings, and aliʻi had storehouses for those that they accumulated. (Abbott)

In the living quarters, small articles customarily were stored in baskets, calabashes, and gourds, and many of these were suspended from the rafters by cord or netting, leaving the floor space open.

Many household furnishings were made from leaves of the hala tree (Pandanus species). Most hala species grow in groves (pū hala). The trees appear to be propped up on their thick roots, and their trunks put forth branches at sharp angles in the upper half of the plant. (Abbott)

Hala is a choice tree for the essential native Hawaiian landscape. Female trees, with the characteristic pineapple-shaped fruit, appear to be more in demand than the males.

But the uncommon male hala produce highly fragrant and attractive floral displays and should be grown more as well. (hawaii-edu) “Old stories tell of lost fishermen in canoes adrift at sea finding their way home via the fragrances of hala.” (Bornhorst)

Hala is a small tree growing 20 to 30 feet in height and from 15 to 35 feet in diameter. Lauhala, the leaves of the hala, are distinctive long blade-like, about 2 inches wide and over 2 feet long. The leaves are spirally arranged towards the ends of the branches and leave a spiral pattern on the trunk when they fall.

Plaited (or braided) lauhala are made into mats, hats, sails, and other useful items. Plaiting entails interlacing the strips at right angles to each other with the aim of obtaining a tight and regular fit. (Since no loom is used, it is incorrect to call this method ‘weaving.’) (Abbott)

“These things were articles of the greatest utility, being used to cover the floor, as clothing, and as robes. This work was done by the women. (Malo)

For use, lauhala was washed, soaked for several days, then softened by being passed through the smoke of a fire. The thorns on the midrib and margins of leaves were stripped out by pulling each leaf through a slit cut for this purpose in a leaf butt. (Abbott)

“The women beat down the leaves with sticks, wilted them over the fire, and then dried them in the sun. After the young leaves (muo) had been separated from the old ones (laele) the leaves were made up into rolls.”

“This done (and the leaves having been split up into strips of the requisite width) they were plaited into mats. The young leaves (mu-o) made the best mats, and from them were made the sails for the canoes.” (Malo)

All Hawaiian floor mats were made either of lauhala or of sedges. In a chief’s hale, over the coarsest floor mats were layered lauhala mats whose plaiting was in widths ranging from 0.5 to 1 inch. (Abbott)

Over the coarse floor mats, finely plaited mats were placed to serve as moena, sleeping mats. At least a few mats (and often many) were piled one atop the next, forming a mattress.

A well-cushioned bed was five to eight centimeters (two to three inches) thick, and the mats were often stitched together along one edge to prevent them from slipping. Beds of the ali’i were composed of numerous layers of mats, the topmost being moena makali‘i or fine sleeping mats, plaited from strips of material as narrow as 0.2 inch. (Abbott)

(It is said that when Kaʻahumanu visited the missionaries and spent the night in the visitors’ room in the frame house at Mission Houses she preferred 30-mats to sleep on.)

For bed coverings, the Hawaiians had kapa moe – single sheets of kapa, often used several at a time – or kapa ku‘ina, which consisted of several layers of kapa stitched along one edge with wauke cordage.

In either case, the covers were about the size of a modern double-bed sheet, and layers could be thrown off or added as the temperature changed during the night. Uluna, plaited lauhala pillows, traditionally were cubical or brick-shaped and stuffed with lauhala. (Abbott)

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Pila`a Kilani weaving a lauhala mat, Pukoo, Molokai-PP-33-6-023-1913

Lauhala weavers, Napoopoo, Hawaii-PP-33-6-003-1935

Lauhala weaver-PP-33-6-002

Woman weaving a lauhala mat-PP-33-7-004

Children watching a weaver strip lauhala-PP-33-6-021-1935

Group of girls lauhala weaving-PP-33-7-001-1900

Hawaiian family and their houses thatched with lauhala-PP-32-2-035-1880s

Lauhala

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Auntie Elizabeth Lee-lauhala weaver

September 18, 2016 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Pig Hunting

Hānai Puaʻa Wahine, Maloko Ka Uku
Raise a sow, for her reward is inside of her
(A sow will bear young)

Pua‘a (pigs) are not native to Hawai‘i. The first pigs were brought to the Hawaiian Islands by the early Polynesians that came to the Islands (approximately AD 1000 and 1200.) (Kirch)

“Originally, pua‘a enjoyed a close relationship with their human families and rarely strayed far from the kauhale (family compound.)”

“Well-developed taro and sweet potato agriculture in ancient Hawai‘i was incompatible with uncontrolled pigs, and there is every indication that pigs were both highly valued and carefully managed sources of protein.”

“Pua‘a were an integrated part of Hawaiian households, and the common presence of pa pua‘a (pig pens) reflects the controlled, physically compartmentalized nature of pig management in traditional Hawai‘i.”

“Notwithstanding, small populations of loosely controlled and free-roaming animals existed in ancient times. Traditional and historic evidence indicates that these animals remained largely domesticated, living mainly on the periphery of kauhale and extending into lowland forests.”

They continued to rely largely on the food and shelter provided by the kauhale. This is because in pre-contact times, native Hawaiian forests were devoid of large alien fruits such as mangos and guava, and major protein sources (including non-native earthworms.) (Maly, Pang & Burrows, 2010)

“We believe that subsistence hunting of feral ungulates by native Hawaiians is NOT a traditional and customary right and therefore not protected under the state constitution or Hawai‘i Revised Statutes.”

“There is no evidence that pigs were hunted in ancient times. The Hawaiian diet was not dependent on pigs and they were only eaten for important occasions or as offerings to gods.”

“It is well documented that feral pigs ranging through Hawaii’s upland forests today bear little physical or cultural resemblance to the smaller, domesticated pigs brought to the islands by voyaging Polynesians.”

“It remains a popular misconception that pigs are native to Hawaiian forests and that pig hunting was a common practice in ancient Hawai‘i.” (Benton Keali‘i Pang, President of ‘Ahahui Mālama I Ka Lōkahi; Environment Hawaii, January 1997)

Hunting of ungulates was not in keeping with Hawaiian cultural traditions. Goats, sheep, European boar, and cattle are all “foreign to the native Hawaiian landscape and culture.”

The Hawaiians themselves used fences to create enclosures to protect native resources. The Hawaiian pig was traditionally raised and fattened in enclosures. (Kepa Maly; Environment Hawaii, January 1997)

“Domestication … is here confined to three species; the hog, dog, and cock; and secondly, it is in fact next to a state of nature in these isles: the hogs and fowl run about at their case the greatest part of the day; the last especially, which live entirely on what they pick up, without being regularly fed.”

“Now and then I observed the house open, but furnished below at the height of about one foot, with a fence of bamboos. Some small houses are likewise included in a kind of partition made of small sticks in the manner of hurdles.”

“The natives commonly keep their hogs during the night, in the house, and have in one corner of it contrived an inclusure (pa booa (pā puaʻa)) covered on the top with boards, on which they sleep.”

“As to animal food from hogs, dogs and fowls, I am certain that their meat is but sparingly eaten …” (Forster’s Observations in Polynesia, 1778)

“Pigs were raised in great numbers for food and for religious and ceremonial purposes. They were free to roam about the village and its environs. Stone walls (pā pōhaku) and picket fences (pā lāʻau) kept these animals from areas where they were not wanted.”

“Mature hogs were penned in stone-walled enclosures and fattened. They were fed cooked taro (kalo), sweet potatoes (ʻuala), yams (hoi), bananas (maiʻa) and breadfruit (ʻulu). Some of these foods were the scraps and peelings not suitable for human consumption.” (Mitchell)

“In contrast, current feral pigs are largely derived from animals introduced after western contact. Captain James Cook, for example, brought European pigs during his first voyage to Hawai‘i, and many other introductions of European and Asian swine followed. Over time, the Polynesian pua‘a interbred with and were mostly displaced by these larger animals.”

“As feral pig populations grew on all islands, they began ranging more freely in the forests. Concurrent but independent introductions of earthworms and introduced plant species, such as mango and guava, provided reliable protein and carbohydrate food sources and helped expand their range.”

“Omnivorous and without any non-human predators, pigs began to thrive in the native forest and successfully established large populations. Within only a few generations, any escaped domesticated pigs reverted to a feral form, retaining the large body size of European swine, but severing their dependence on human beings.” (Maly, Pang & Burrows, 2010)

“The custom of recreational hunting evolved over the last hundred fifty years as native Hawaiians assimilated western traditions in the context of these introduced game animals.”

“The earliest descriptions of western-style hunting occur in the opening decades of the 19th century, when outings were organized to control wild herds of cattle that threatened agriculture, residences, and forest resources.”

“The practice increased in frequency and in popularity, with island hunters playing a key role in the state’s response to the watershed crisis of the late 19th-century. These state-sponsored control efforts resulted in the removal of over 170,000 introduced mammals in the first half of the 20th century.”

“Although hunting is not widely practiced in contemporary Hawaiian society – only two percent of the state’s residents obtain a hunting license – it is a visible and common occurrence across the state.”

“Pig hunting, in particular, is a cherished modern practice for island sportsmen, including some whose subsistence depends to greater or lesser extent on wild game.”

“Pig hunting in heavy cover is usually accomplished with the use of dogs, and the required training, feeding and care for these animals can be a difficult and expensive task. The dogs locate, chase, grab, or bay the game, which is then typically dispatched by the hunter with a gun or knife.”

“These techniques are derived directly from western and European pig hunting practices, incorporated over the last 150 years in Hawai‘i, and passed down through family generations.” (Maly, Pang & Burrows, 2010)

While cultural authorities note that hunting of pigs is not a traditional and cultural practice, a recent Hawaiʻi Intermediate Court of Appeals decision (December 2015) notes pig hunting is a customary and traditional practice for Kui Palama on the Island of Kauai, prior to 1892.

But the Court noted, “there have been no Hawaiʻi appellate cases directly addressing whether pig hunting is a constitutionally protected traditional and customary practice, and for this reason, we reiterate that our decision here is confined to the narrow circumstances and the particular record in this case.”)

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Wild_Pig-civilbeat

Wild_Pig

Pig-Puaa

Young men in malo with pig-PP-2-7-009-1939

September 15, 2016 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Grand Canyon

“Leave it as it is. You cannot improve on it. The ages have been at work on it, and man can only mar it. What you can do is to keep it for your children, and for all who come after you, as the only great sight which every American … should see.” (Teddy Roosevelt)

It was the home of a group of people that some call the Anasazi, a Navajo word for ‘Ancient Ones.’ About 2,000 years ago, the Pueblo people learned to survive in extremely harsh conditions and for more than 1,000 years thrived there. Then, they simply disappeared. (Shields)

The Hopi, Yavapai, Navajo, Apache, Zuni, Paiute (Kaibab,) Havasupai and Hualapai are among the tribes that call the canyon home, each with their own language, customs and beliefs. (NPS)

The Colorado River began carving a course to create the Grand Canyon, 4 to 6-million years ago. The nearly 300-river-miles long Colorado cut the 1-mile deep, 10-miles wide canyon, exposing rock and sediment formations that are nearly 2-billion years old. (Stampoulos)

In 1540, a Spanish Nobleman, Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, led the first expedition of Europeans into the southwest, in search of the fabled Seven Cities of Cibola that were reputed to contain great riches.

Spanish explorer Don Pedro de Tovar accompanied Coronado and led an expedition to Hopi country. Tovar is credited with as being the first European to learn of the existence of the Grand Canyon. But the Spanish left, unable to cross its impassable void.

Later, more foreigners came.

In 1869, Major John Wesley Powell, a one-armed Civil War veteran and his nine companions became the first to record the 1,000-miles of the Green and Colorado River from Wyoming through the Grand Canyon. Powell was the first American to consistently use and publish the name, ‘Grand Canyon.’ (NPS)

Miners discovered valuable mineral resources in the Grand Canyon in the late-1800s; but extraction was dangerous and expensive. Mining claims waned and tourism increased.

In the early days, reaching the Grand Canyon was difficult. Initially, horses, mules, river rafts and stagecoaches brought people to the canyon. The 73-mile trip from Flagstaff to the canyon rim took 10 to 12-hours. (Stampoulos)

In 1876, the Santa Fe railroad was one of the fastest expanding railroads in the country. In 1889, Fred Harvey had a contract for exclusive rights to manage and operate the eating houses and lunch stands with the Santa Fe, west of the Missouri River.

Passengers on the Santa Fe ate well because of Harvey’s special refrigerated boxcar that supplied fresh California fruits and vegetables. He had ‘Harvey Girls’ (“young (unmarried) women between 18 and 30-years of age, of good character, attractive and intelligent”) as waitresses and salesgirls.

The Fred Harvey Company operated all of the hotels and restaurants along the Santa Fe railroad lines, as well as many dining cars. (Stampoulos)

Soon, the Santa Fe Railway (and others railways) reached the South Rim of the canyon. In 1901, Harvey died, and his son Ford Harvey took over the company. After Fred’s death, the company’s good reputation for fine food and service grew even more. (Armstrong)

Newspapers across the country heralded the passenger trains carrying visitors to the Grand Canyon; the story stirred public interest, instigating what would later become a ‘boom’ of visitors to the canyon – more than half of them arrived by train at the Santa Fe Station. (Shields)

The company decided to go ahead with plans for a first-class hotel at the Grand Canyon. Ford was in charge of what became the company’s crown jewel, the El Tovar Hotel (named after the early Spanish explorer) – the Charles Whittlesey-designed log structure opened its doors on the canyon rim (and at the rail station) on January 14, 1905.

The hotel soon became the mecca for travelers from all over the world. In order to serve the large number of visitors. The Fred Harvey Company had to maintain a fairly large staff. To accommodate them, men and women’s dormitories were built near the hotel.

The Harvey Company continued its growth well into the 20th century.

So, what’s the Hawai‘i connection? … In 1968, Amfac (one of Hawai‘i’s ‘Big Five’ companies) bought the Fred Harvey Company (and with it, the concession for El Tovar and other hotels, shops and activities at the Grand Canyon.)

Amfac had its beginning in the Islands when, on September 26, 1849, German sea captain Heinrich (Henry) Hackfeld arrived in Honolulu with his wife, Marie, her 16-year-old brother Johann Carl Pflueger and a nephew BF Ehlers.

Hackfeld opened a general merchandise business (dry goods, crockery, hardware and stationery,) wholesale, as well as retail store.

Hackfeld later developed a business of importing machinery and supplies for the spreading sugar plantations and exported raw sugar. H Hackfeld & Co became a prominent factor – business agent and shipper – for the plantations.

A few years later, with the advent of the US involvement in World War I, things changed significantly for the worst for H Hackfeld & Co. In 1918, using the terms of the Trading with the Enemy Act and its amendments, the US government seized H Hackfeld & Company and ordered the sale of German-owned shares. (Jung)

The patriotic sounding “American Factors, Ltd,” the newly-formed Hawaiʻi-based corporation (whose largest shareholders included Alexander & Baldwin, C Brewer & Company, Castle & Cooke, HP Baldwin Ltd, Matson Navigation Company and Welch & Company,) bought the H Hackfeld stock. (Jung) At that same time, the BF Ehlers dry goods store also took the patriotic “Liberty House” name.

American Factors shortened its name to “Amfac” in 1966. The next year (1967,) Henry Alexander Walker became president and later Board Chairman of Amfac.

Over the next 15-years, Walker took Amfac from a company that largely depended on sugar production in Hawaiʻi to a broadly diversified conglomerate (which included the acquisition of the Fred Harvey Company in 1968.)

Later, the resort management company became known as Xanterra Parks and Resorts (the present concessionaire and operator of hotels (including El Tovar) and other functions at the Grand Canyon, and elsewhere.)

In 1893, President Benjamin Harrison established it as a forest reserve. On January 11, 1908, President Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt placed the Grand Canyon under public protection, declaring it a national monument. Congress updated the Grand Canyon to national park status and doubled the protected area in 1975. It was named a World Heritage Site in 1979.

They say the average length of stay for visitors to the Grand Canyon is 3-hours; take some time to see and experience what some suggest is one of the 7 Wonders of the Natural World (Grand Canyon, Mount Everest, Northern Lights, Harbor at Rio de Janeiro, Great Barrier Reef, Paricutin and Victoria Falls) – it is something to behold, that neither words, nor pictures, can adequately describe.

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Tourist at the edge of the Grand Canyon, ca. 1914

Grand Canyon-1872

Grand View Trail, Grand Canyon, 1906

Grand_Canyon_Dorie_In_Marble_Gorge_1964

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Harvey Girls – Grand Canyon National Park – Fred Harvey Company

Grand Canyon Train

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Vintage-Grand-Canyon-look out

El Tovar Hotel-facing Canyon

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El_Tovar_Hotel_1968

El_Tovar_Hotel-snow

El_Tovar_Hotel-menu-1953

September 12, 2016 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Lake Wilson

One hundred and thirty-six-feet high
Four hundred and sixty-one-feet long
Five hundred and eighty-feet thick
Twenty-six-thousand-cubic yards of stone backing
One hundred and forty-one-thousand-cubic yards of earth filling
A reservoir seven-miles long
Capacity 2,500,000,000 gallons
Cost three hundred thousand dollars
(Pacific Commercial Advertiser, February 15, 1906)

“The greatest irrigation proposition ever undertaken in the Hawaiian Islands is the Wahiawa dam, which will soon be under course of construction in the Wahiawa valley, some miles from Honolulu. … It will also be used for irrigating fruit lands belonging to a colony of settlers in the immediate vicinity of the dam and for generating electric power.”

“This dam will conserve in a great natural reservoir basin over two and a half billion gallons of water which will be used chiefly to irrigate the upper cane lands of the Waialua Agricultural Company’s great sugar plantation, eight miles away.” (Louisiana Planter, September 19, 1904)

Wahiawa is located in Central Oʻahu on the Leilehua Plateau, the central plain between the Waiʻanae and Koʻolau mountain ranges.

Following Wahiawa’s initial Euro-American settlement, a period of intense agricultural interest in the pineapple industry ensued. The Hawai’i Agricultural Research Station established on the outskirts of Honolulu further supported the agricultural pursuits of pineapple and sugar in the region.

Early agricultural activities significantly modified the landscape in Wahiawa. In 1900, the Wahiawa Water Company was created through an agreement between Waialua Agricultural Company, the government, and stockholders of the colony cooperative.

Under the direction of engineer Albert Andrew Wilson, residents constructed a system of irrigation flumes, ditches, and tunnels to carry water from the northern branch of the Kaukonahua Stream to agricultural tracts.

A subsequent, more substantial phase of the irrigation project involved the damning of the two forks of the Kaukonahua Stream to develop the Wahiawa Reservoir in 1906.

The reservoir, later known as Lake Wilson, is the largest water impoundment in the state and has effectively constrained residential development in Wahiawa to its geographic boundaries.

Originally constructed by the Waialua Sugar Company, the reservoir would help to fuel other important agricultural enterprises as well. The successful irrigation facilitated by the reservoir, resulted in over half of the Wahiawa tract becoming cultivated land, with pineapple quickly emerging as the colony’s most valuable crop. (DLNR)

Construction began in 1903 and was completed in 1905. The logistics of the construction were challenging. Railroad track was laid for bringing in the boulders for the rock fill portion from as far away as 6-miles. A high trestle was built over the dam site, and the rocks were dropped into place. The long drop compacted them so they held in place.

“It has taken six years since the preliminary work was begun and two years of continuous work to complete the great enterprise. Now it is finished, and five million gallons of water a day are being delivered to the Waialua Plantation, and although this is dry weather, eighteen feet of water have accumulated in the reservoir during the last two weeks.”

“It will double the available cane area of the Waialua Plantation, and place it in the same class with Ewa, with an annual output of thirty thousand tons and upwards.”

“What that tonnage means is shown by comparing it with twelve thousand tons, the entire output of Hawaii in 11875, the year before the Reciprocity Treaty went into operation. (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, February 15, 1906)

“The outlet from the reservoir extends through four miles of ditch and tunnel until it issues onto the cane lands at the elevation above sea level of seven hundred and thirty feet, or one hundred and eighty feet higher than any fields now cultivated.”

“This brings twelve thousand acres of cane land under a gravity flow of water and doubles the area available for cultivation, without increasing the present pumping plant. (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, February 15, 1906)

“The only defect we have found in the design or construction of the dam is in the outlet valve which is 48 inches in diameter.
There is a pressure of about thirty tons against it when the reservoir is full. This great weight makes it difficult to open and shut the gate when necessary to increase or diminish the quantity of water delivered to the plantation.”

“An extension of the 48 inch outlet pipe, with two smaller gates, has been ordered, and the material is now at the dam. This will put the water under perfect control and permit, at some future time, the installation of turbine wheels for the development of water power.”

“The construction of this dam and the ditches by which the water is delivered to all parts of the plantation, will complete the development of the plantation and make all the land below the 700 ft. level available for cane cultivation.” (Hawaiian Star, February 28, 1907)

“But there are those who know all these facts and a hundred more, who have tirelessly schemed and worked and financed the great work to success. These men are (Leonard Grant) LG Kellogg, the manager of the company; (Hiram Clay) HC Kellogg, CE, of Santa Anna, Cal., who prepared the plans and personally superintended the construction of the dam, and …”

“… (Edward Davies) ED Tenney, President of the Water Company and of the Waialua Company, and (William Whitmore) WW Goodale, manager of the Waialua Agricultural Company which has financed the enterprise.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, February 15, 1906)

Since 1957, the Department of Land and Natural Resources, through a cooperative agreement with Castle & Cooke, Inc., has managed Wahiawa Reservoir as a public fishing area. In 1968, a 14-foot wide concrete boat launching ramp and parking area were constructed by the State for public use.

The reservoir is stocked with both large and small mouth bass, bluegill sunfish, Channel catfish, Threadfin shad, tilapia, peacock bass, oscar, Chinese catfish, and carp. It is the responsibility of DLNR’s Division of Aquatic Resources to manage these gamefish populations within the reservoir for recreational fishing purposes.

Albert Andrew Wilson (water manager, engineer and contractor) was born at Pescadero, San Mateo County on March 22, 1874; he was son of James and Susan (Matilda) Wilson.

Following arrival in Hawaii, in September 1897, he was engaged with engineering corps of Oahu Railway & Land Co. on Waialua and Kahuku extensions for two years.

From 1899-1915, he was in contracting business, during which time he was associated with various projects, such as railroad, ditch and dam building (he later served as manager of Wahiawa Water Works.) He was general superintendent of construction of the Waiāhole Ditch tunnel. On October 1, 1909 he married Nellie Beatrice Baker of Hilo; they had one child, James. (Men of Hawaii)

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Dam and Reservoir at Wahiawa under construction-PCA-Feb_15_1906

Dam and Reservoir at Wahiawa-PCA-Feb_15_1906

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H Clay Kellogg-PCA-Feb_15_1906

ED Tenney-PCA-Feb_15_1906

LG Kellogg-PCA-Feb_15_1906

Lake Wilson

Lake Wilson-Map-(DLNR)

Salvinia_Covered_Reservoir

Salvinia_Control-(DLNR)

133635_1.tif. AMBO (ftp,aps) 2/18/39 (CITY,Gordon) weed 21Salvinia Molesta weed that has accumulated in Lake Wilson is being removed by an amphibious excavator.