Place Names | Page 70 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

May 19, 2022 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Hawaiian Woods – Hawaiian Royal Residences

Most houses at the time of Cook’s contact consisted of a framework of posts, poles and slender rods – often set on a paving or low platform foundation – lashed together with a coarse twine made of beaten and twisted bark, vines, or grassy fibers. This was then covered with ti, pandanus or sugarcane leaves, or a thatch of pili grass or other appropriate material.

When covered with small bundles of grass laid side by side in overlapping tiers, these structures were described as resembling haystacks. One door and frequently an additional small “air hole” provided ventilation and light, while air also passed through the thatching. Grass or palm leaves covered the raised earth floors of these houses.

When a chief needed a house, his retainers assembled the materials and erected the structure under the direction of an individual (kahuna) expert in the art of erecting a framework and applying thatch.

Many of these more modern royal residences were named – some were named after the material they were made from. Here are three such royal residences.

Hale Kauila (Downtown Honolulu – Queen Kīna‘u)

Hale Kauila (house built of kauila wood) once stood on the street in downtown Honolulu that still bears the name of this large council chamber or reception room (some refer to it as Kina‘u’s house.)

While the thatch is attached in the usual way, the posts are much higher than usual and have squared timber; but the most foreign touch, apart from the windows, are the cross braces at the top and between the posts and the plate (they were never used in genuine native work.)

The description by Captain du Petit-Thouars of this house (which he calls the house of the Queen Kīna‘u:) “This house, built in wood and covered with dry grasses, is placed in the middle of a fortification closed with a fence.”

“The platform on which it rests is high above the ground in the yard about 30 centimeters and it is surrounded, externally, a covered gallery which makes it more pleasant.”

“Its shape inside, is that of a rectangle lengthens; in one end, there is a flat shape by a wooden partition which does not rise to the roof.”

“This piece serves as a bedroom, in the remaining of the area, box, and at the other end, there is a portion of the high ground from 28 to 30 centimeters, which is covered with several mats: it is this kind of big couch that was placed the ladies and they are held lying on one side or stomach, or they stand to receive and to make room.”

Hale Lama (Waikīkī – King Kamehameha V)

King Kamehameha V’s Waikīkī home was built in 1866. It was called Hale Lama. As described by George Kanahele, the residence “was quite modest with only one bedroom, but was notable for its neo-Hawaiian architecture – a low, rectangular-shaped structure, with a high-pitched, hipped roof that was thatched and descended to the poles of the lanai that sounded three of the four exterior walls.”

“The design suited Waikiki’s climate perfectly. The high pitched roof allowed for the upward expansion of warm air, thus cooling the inside of the house, and the wide overhanging eaves kept out both sun and rain, while inviting the serenity and beauty of the natural setting.”

“It has been mentioned that the lama wood was especially used for building houses of the gods, that is, the thatched houses within the enclosures of the heiau or luakini, and its use in building the house for King lot, Kamehameha V, gave an excuse for its reported use by an old kahuna in the King’s establishment, for a house of prayer, and I am assured by an old resident that prayers to the gods were frequently offered therein”.

After the Kamehameha V’s death in 1872, the house and property went to went to Princess Ruth who bequeathed the property to Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop. The Princess and her husband Charles Bishop renovated and enlarged the house with servant quarters.

Hale Kamani (Lāhainā – Princess Nahiʻenaʻena)

When Keōpūolani returned to Maui to live her final years, she had a house on the beach in Lāhainā; her daughter, Nahiʻenaʻena, lived in her own home next door – Nahiʻenaʻena called her house Hale Kamani.

It had an early and convenient addition to the common grass house in a land where the people lived so generally in the open air, was the lanai, with extensions of the rafters at the same or a slightly reduced slope.

This verandah was, generally speaking, the most comfortable part of the house. This lanai was often detached as in the Hale Kamani and was sometimes large with walls of coconut leaves intertwined, and a nearly flat roof of similar substance which was intended to furnish shade rather than shelter from heavy rain.

At least one other Royal Residence was named after a native wood ‘Āinahau (Princess Kapi‘olani’s home in Waikīkī;) however, it was named such because it was situated in a hau grove, not that its wood was used in the structure.

May 18, 2022 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

“People think of the islands as a white place”

“Time erases stories that don’t fit the preferred narrative.” (BC historian Jean Barman to BBC writer Diane Selkirk)

This summary is inspired by a random e-mail I received that included just a link – the link was to a BBC story about Hawaiians in British Columbia’s Gulf Islands.

Captain Vancouver claimed the islands for the British Crown, and referred to them as being located in a “gulf.” While the Gulf Islands are clearly not in a gulf, the name stuck.

In the same year, Spanish and British cartographic expeditions also explored the area, intent on finding a passage to the northwest Atlantic. (Gulf Islands Tourism)

Canada’s Gulf Islands are scattered across the Salish Sea between Vancouver and Southern Vancouver. The area is now home to Gulf Islands National Park Reserve—an ecological paradise of land pockets on 15 islands, plus numerous small islets and reef areas. The forested Gulf Islands include Mayne, Galiano, Hornby, and Gabriola. The largest is Salt Spring. (Destination BC)

“The Gulf Islands are comprised of dozens of islands scattered between Vancouver and Southern Vancouver Island. With a mild climate and bucolic landscapes, it’s been the continuous unceded territory of Coast Salish Nations for at least 7,000 years.”

“The Spanish visited in 1791 and then Captain George Vancouver showed up, claiming the Gulf Islands for the British Crown. Not long after, settlers began arriving from all parts of the world. Many of them were Hawaiian, while black Americans, Portuguese, Japanese and Eastern Europeans also settled on the islands.”

“(I)n the late 1700s, during a period of strife when Indigenous Hawaiians (including royalty) were losing their rights and autonomy at home, many of the men joined the maritime fur trade.”

“A large number of Hawaiians settled on the western shore of Salt Spring Island where they could continue their traditions of fishing and farming “

“Employed by the Hudson Bay Company, hundreds, if not thousands, of Hawaiians found their way to Canada’s west coast. By 1851, some estimates say half the settler population of the Gulf Islands was Hawaiian.”

“Then in the late 1850s, as the border between the US and present-day Canada solidified, many Hawaiians who had been living south moved north, where they were afforded the rights of British citizenship.”

“Once in BC they became landowners, farmers and fishermen. Gradually, they intermarried with local First Nations or other immigrant groups and their Hawaiian identity was almost lost. But during the years when the land containing the orchards was researched and studied, their story was revived, and Hawaiian Canadians began reclaiming their heritage.”

“British Columbia’s Gulf Islands are testament of an era when, during a period of internal strife, Hawaiian royalty left their tropical home for distant islands.”

“Maria Mahoi, a woman born on Vancouver Island in about 1855 to a Hawaiian man and a local Indigenous woman … spent her young adulthood sailing a 40ft whaling schooner with her first husband, American sea captain Abel Douglas.”

“As they had children and their family grew, they settled on Salt Spring Island. Here a large number of Hawaiian families had formed a community on the western shore extending south from Fulford Harbour to Isabella Point, overlooking the islands of Russell, Portland and Cole.”

“Mahoi’s first marriage ended, leaving her a single mother with seven children. She then married a man named George Fisher, the son of a wealthy Englishman called Edward Fisher and an Indigenous Cowichan woman named Sara. The two had an additional six children and made their home in a log cabin on 139 acres near Fulford Harbour.”

“The restoration of Mahoi’s story ended up helping to shape part of a national park.”

“Much of what we think of as Hawaiian culture – hula dance, lei making and traditional food – are the customary domain of women. So those parts of the Hawaiian culture didn’t come to the Gulf Islands with the first male arrivals. But the Hawaiians left their mark in other ways.”

“The community provided both the land and the volunteer builders for the St Paul’s Catholic Church at Fulford Harbour; and Chinook Jargon, the local trade language of the time, included many Hawaiian words. The culture also showed in where the Hawaiians chose to live: most settled in the islands where they were able to continue their practices of fishing and farming.”

“Visitors can enter Maria Mahoi’s house on Russell Island and hear stories about her life on the island .“

“In Mahoi’s case, she also left behind the family home. The small house – with doorways that were just 5’6” – reflects the small stature of the original inhabitants, something that intrigued later owners.”

“Over time, as more of Russell Island’s unique history became clear, it was acquired by the Pacific Marine Heritage Legacy in 1997 and then deemed culturally distinct enough to become part of GINPR in 2003.”

“In 2003, Portland Island, with its winding trails, sandstone cliffs and shell-midden beaches, had become part of the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve (GINPR), a sprawling national park made up of protected lands scattered across 15 islands and numerous islets and reefs in the Salish Sea.”

“Over the next 15 years, 17 abandoned orchards, on eight of the islands, were studied by Parks Canada archaeologists and cultural workers in order to gain a glimpse into the lives of early settlers in the region.”

“On Portland Island, a new park sign told me, the heritage apples including Lemon Pippin, Northwest Greening, Winter Banana and Yellow Bellflower had been planted by a man called John Palau, one of the hundreds of Hawaiians who were among the earliest settlers in the region.”

The article notes, “History, though, can become obscured. And the story of the Gulf Islands became an English one. ‘People think of the islands as a white place,’ BC historian Jean Barman told [the author]. ‘Time erases stories that don’t fit the preferred narrative.’”

The “island history had faded from general knowledge”. “ Part of the problem is the fact that the records of Hawaiians who came to the west coast are particularly challenging.”

“Newly arrived Hawaiians often went by a single name or just a nickname. Even when a first and last name was recorded, a name’s spelling often changed over time. So it became difficult to track a specific Hawaiian royal through his or her lifetime.”

“The legacy of the early Hawaiian settlers was virtually erased from history, but now Hawaiian Canadians have begun reclaiming their heritage.”

“‘When people share the stories of who they are, they’re partial stories. What gets repeated is based on how ambivalent or how proud you are,’ Barman said, explaining this is why many British Columbians of Hawaiian decedent she’s spoken to claim royal heritage. It was a story they were proud of.”

May 17, 2022 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Lord Byron’s 1825 Trip to Pearl River

In 1824, Liholiho (King Kamehameha II), his wife, Kamāmalu, and a group of retainers and foreign advisors, traveled from Hawai‘i to England. Liholiho and his wife died in England and in May of 1825, their bodies were returned to Hawai‘i by Lord Byron.

While in the islands, James Macrae, a botanist, traveling with the Lord, traveled to various locations in the company of native guides, where he took observations and collected biological samples.

One of Macrae’s journeys along with Lord Byron and party took him to Pu‘uloa, the Pearl River, where he described the scene and scenery. (Maly)

“May 17. Joined Lord Byron’s party, with Mantle carrying my traps. We did not embark until noon. After two hours sailing along the coast, we entered the mouth of the Pearl River, which divides itself into several branches, forming two islands.”

“One which is smaller than the other is called Rabbit island [Moku‘ume‘ume], from a person, the name of Marine [Marin], a Spaniard, residing at Hanarura, having put rabbits on it some years ago. The rabbits have since increased in numbers.”

“It became so calm, that his Lordship, Mr. C., and the Bloxoms left us in the launch, and rowed in the small boat in tow, and soon disappeared from sight.”

“We waited in suspense, hour after hour, not knowing the several branches of the river, nor where we were to spend the night.”

“The boat party pulling into one branch of the river, the other in which I was tacking about from bank to bank till the boaters hauled their boat ashore and we cast anchor.”

“Both parties were opposite each other on Rabbit Island, but ignorant of the fact, till on walking about the island, the parties met.”

“One hut was noticed, and those on the island made for it, but the launch having the ladies and some others on board, got up anchor and sailed round to the hut, where with the help of canoes, they all landed.”

“The ladies were somewhat discontented, but after a good dinner partaken sitting on mats spread on the grass, harmony was restored.”

“At dusk we embarked to cross to a larger hut. Landed at 8 p.m. At ten o’clock two old men entered our hut to play the hura dance on a couple of bottle shaped gourds. They took a sitting posture, beating time on the gourd’s with the palms of their hands, accompanied by a song made up about the late king.”

“About 11, we all retired to rest, lying down beside each other on mats, some with pumpkins or what else they could get for a pillow. The ladies got themselves screened off in a corner with a flag without any other accommodation.”

“Pearl River is about seven miles west of Hanarura, and is improperly called a river, being rather inlets from the sea, branching off in different directions. There are three chief branches, named by the surveyors, the East, Middle and West Lochs.”

“The entrance to Pearl River is very narrow and shallow, and in its present state it is fit for very small vessels to enter, but over the bar there is deep water, and in the channel leading to the lochs there are from 7 to 20 fathoms. The lochs themselves are rather shallow.”

“The coast from Hanarura to the west of Pearl River possesses no variety of plants beyond two or three species, such as Argemones (kala, beach poppy), Portulacas (‘ihi, yellow purslane), and a few other little annuals, intermixed with the common long grass so plentiful everywhere on the coast round the island.”

“The oysters that are found in Pearl River are small and insipid and of no value or consequence.”

“May 18. Got up at 4 a.m., after a restless night, having been tormented with fleas. Departed with my man Mantle, leaving the rest yet asleep. But after travelling about three miles, the path which we had first struck terminated, and the grass became longer and more difficult to travel over.”

“At last, after another three miles, we got so entangled with creeping plants running a little above the ground beneath the grass, that Mantle, who was stockingless, shed tears, complaining of his ankles, and refused to go on.”

“Being yet five miles from the woods, and not having sufficient provisions for two days, we were forced to return to the town by a path leading through taro ponds, some distance inland from the coast.”

“On the path we had left near the Pearl River, we saw several thickly inhabited huts, situated on the side of a ravine stocked with bananas, taro and healthy breadfruit trees just forming their fruit. Here we met with an old Englishman, who told us there was on the opposite side of the ravine a large river coming out under the ground.”

“We went to the place and found that what he had told us was correct, and stood admiring the subterranean stream of fine, cool water. Its source was rapid, forming a cascade nearly 20 feet in height, having ferns and mosses on its sides.”

“In the grounds of the natives, I saw plenty of the awa plant (piper) mentioned in the history of these islands, as being destructive to the health of the natives when used to excess, owing to its intoxicating qualities. I obtained several specimens of it in flower.”

“The old man informed me that he had been on the island over sixteen years, and that the grounds we were then upon, belonged to Boki, and had been in his charge for ten years.”

“Upon Boki going to England with the king, another chief had turned him away, and taken all his little ground from him, so that he had been forced to live on the charity of the natives.”

“The neighbourhood of the Pearl River is very extensive, rising backwards with a gentle slope towards the woods, but is without cultivation, except round the outskirts to about half a mile from the water.”

“The country is divided into separate farms or allotments belonging to the chiefs, and enclosed with walls from four to six feet high, made of a mixture of mud and stone.”

“The poorer natives live on these farms, also a few ragged foreigners who have a hut with a small spot of ground given them, for which they must work for the chiefs a certain number of days besides paying an annual rent in dogs, hogs, goats, poultry and tapa cloths, which they have to carry to whatever spot their master is then living on the island.”

“On the least neglect to perform these demands, they are turned away and deprived of whatever stock, etc., they may possess. Such is the present despotic or absolute law in the Sandwich Islands.”

“This is corroborated by all foreigners met with at different times, who, on our arrival, hoped that Lord Byron would render them their little property more secure in future. Unfortunately they must wait till the British Consul helps them, as we have no authority to interfere with the laws of the country.”

“On our way home we noticed that the country on the side towards the woods still remained uncultivated, also towards the sea coast, except the lower ends of the small valleys which are cultivated with the taro in ponds, which much resemble peat mosses that had been worked and afterwards allowed to get full of stagnant water.”

“There is no convenient road to travel anywhere on the island. We met with another subterranean river at the side of one of the hollows, larger than the other, but of no great fall after its appearance from underground.”

“By 4 pm we gained the summit of a high hill, thickly covered with tufts of long grass. It lies within three miles of Hanarura. There is a burying ground of the natives at the top, which was formerly where the chiefs of high rank had a morai.”

“At the bottom towards the sea, there is a circular salt pond, nearly two miles in circumference, surrounded by low conical hills. In places on the sides of a valley leading to the pond from the interior, are several huts of the natives with taro ponds and a large grove of coco-nut trees, apparently very old from their height and mossy appearance.”

“We reached town about six o’clock having travelled twenty miles since morning without much success, being too near the coast to meet with a variety of plants. We learnt, however, a good deal about the present mode of life of the natives, and the manner in which they continue to cultivate their grounds, differing but little, if any, from the descriptions given Capt. Cook and others.” (Macrae)

Honolulu-South_Shore-Pearl_Harbor-to-Diamond_Head-Kotzebue-1817-portion-for_GoogleEarth-600

Pearl_Lochs_and_Puuloa_Entrance-Map-1873

Puuloa-map

Pearl_Harbor,_Hawaii-2009

Puʻuloa_in_the_1880s

May 13, 2022 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Kahakuloa

There were several major population centers on the Island of Maui: Kahakuloa (West Maui) region; the deep watered valleys of Nā Wai ‘Ehā (Waiheʻe, Wai‘ehu, Wailuku and Waikapū;) the ‘Olowalu to Honokōhau region of Lāhainā; the Kula – ʻUlupalakua region and the Koʻolau – Hana region. (Handy, Handy & Pukui)

Kahakuloa is a valley that sits between Nā Hono A Piʻilani, The Bays of Piʻilani (aka Honoapiʻilani – the six hono bays (uniting of the bays:) from South to North, Honokōwai (bay drawing fresh water), Honokeana (cave bay), Honokahua (sites bay,) Honolua (two bays), Honokōhau (bay drawing dew) and Hononana (animated bay) to the West) and Na Wai ʻEha to the East.

The importance of the region is reflected by the number of heiau that were reportedly present in precontact times. There were a total of seven heiau that were recorded in the Kahakuloa area. These heiau included Hononana, Kaneaola, Kuewa, Keahialoa, Pakai, Waipiliamoo and Kukuipuka. (Kukuipuka heiau was reported to have been a place of refuge for West Maui.) (Xamanek)

According to Handy the name Kahakuloa refers to a small and famous loʻi about one-half-mile inland in the bottom of Kahakuloa Valley.

This irrigated kalo patch belonged to the haku or lord of the land. Because of the isolation of the area, the haku became known as the “far away master” – ka haku loa. Kahakuloa was “one of the most genuinely native communities still extant in the islands [with] a population of about 20 families, all Hawaiian and all taro planters.” (Xamanek)

Descriptions differ on whether Kahakuloa is an ahupuaʻa or another type of land division. The island (mokupuni that is surrounded by water) is the main division. Islands were divided into sections within the island called moku; typically, there was a Kona on the lee side and one called Koʻolau on the windward side of almost every island.

These districts were further divided into ʻokana or kalana (smaller districts.) The next subdivision of land is the ahupua’a, which has been termed the basic unit of land in the Hawaiian system. Portions of ahupuaʻa were called ʻili.)

The region as Kahakuloa was known for extensive taro loʻi (irrigated taro cultivation.) Here the taro that grew in the sacred patch of the aliʻi was reputed to be of great size. (Maly) In addition, it was known for ʻUala (sweet potato cultivation.)

The Māhele land records indicate that much of the lands here were Crown lands with several properties going to Victoria Kamāmalu (daughter of Kīnaʻu, the wife of Kamehameha II) and a number of small awards were granted in the Kahakuloa Village region; many of these awards were granted for taro loʻi cultivation.

During the mid-1800s, a large portion of the surrounding region was used for sugar cane and macadamia nut agriculture, as well as extensive cattle grazing.

Haiku Fruit and Packing Co. utilized some lands in Kahakuloa to grow pineapple. Pineapple production in this part of Maui went into decline after the Great Depression in the 1930s and appeared to have ceased by the 1960s.

Kahakuloa is a small isolated village at the end of a valley – it is described to be a “cultural kīpuka that survived the onslaught of development after Hawaiʻi became a state.” (McGregor)

Standing tall and overlooking the coastal shoreline is Kahakuloa Head, 636-feet high and known historically for a King Kahekili’s Leap.

During the late-18th century, Maui chief Kahekili, a rival of Kamehameha, was known for many legendary feats in the ancient Hawaiian sport of lele kawa (to leap feet first from a cliff into water without splashing.) Legend says that in the early morning, the King would climb up the hill and “leap” into the ocean below from about the 200 foot height.

Access continues to be limited to this area (some suggest rental car agencies do not allow rentals to attempt to traverse the region.)

Coming from the West, you start on Honoapiʻilani Highway (Highway 30 – with ascending mile markers,) but as you travel through, the road transforms to Kahekili Highway (Highway 340 – with descending mileage markers.)

A lot of the way is single file on a single lane road – often without makai barriers. There are hairpin turns, steep ocean-side drops and narrow one-lane sections. Along the way are the Bell Stone, Olivine Pools and Nakalele Blowhole; in the valley is the Kahakuloa Congregational Church, founded in 1887.

May 12, 2022 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

George Robert Carter

George Robert Carter was born on December 28, 1866 in Honolulu, his mother was Sybil Augusta Judd (1843–1906,) daughter of Gerrit P. Judd, and his father was businessman Henry Alpheus Peirce Carter.

“His grandfather was Oliver Carter, an American sea captain engaged in the whaling industry, who first came to Honolulu during one of his whaling voyages in the late twenties or early thirties of the last century, and settled here in the thirties.” (Hawaiian Star, May 28, 1904)

“Carter went to school first in Nuʻuanu Valley … later he attended St. Alban’s College (forerunner to ʻIolani) and attended Fort Street School (which eventually became McKinley High School.)” (Hawaiian Gazette, November 24, 1903)

From the Honolulu schools Carter went to Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts, and graduating there in 1885, entered the Sheffield Scientific school of Yale University where he finished a three years’ course in 1888.” (Hawaiian Gazette, November 24, 1903)

“Carter, always took a healthy interest in athletic sports and while at Yale was a member of the Varsity football teams of ’86, ’87 and ’88 and was also a member of the Yale boat crews of ’87 and ’88.” (Hawaiian Gazette, November 24, 1903)

He formed a rowing club with a few friends, including a friend from Hawaii Hiram Bingham III (my great uncle.) (Yale-edu) (Hiram Bingham III married into the Tiffany fortune, taught history and politics, and on July 24, 1911 rediscovered the “Lost City” of Machu Picchu – and, reportedly, was the inspiration for the Indiana Jones character.)

Carter married Helen Strong, daughter of Eastman Kodak president Henry A Strong on April 19, 1892. They had four children: Elizabeth (born August 25, 1895), Phoebe (born September 27, 1897), a daughter who died on June 17, 1903, and George Robert, Jr. (born November 10, 1905).

In 1895 Carter returned to Hawaiʻi to become the cashier of C Brewer & Co., where his father had been a senior partner from 1862 to 1874. From 1898 to 1902, he helped organize and manage the Hawaiian Trust Company, and was managing director of the Hawaiian Fertilizer Company. In addition, he served as a director for Bank of Hawaii, C. Brewer and Alexander & Baldwin.

Carter was elected to the Hawaii Territorial Senate, representing Oʻahu, in 1901. While a territorial senator, he was sent to Washington as an unofficial agent to discuss territorial matters with President Teddy Roosevelt.

Roosevelt later appointed Carter Secretary of the Territory in 1902 and then Territorial Governor in 1903, succeeding Sanford B. Dole who resigned to become a federal judge (Carter was Governor from 1903 – 1907.) (Yale-edu)

In 1905, during Carter’s administration, the current system of county governments was created; the five county governments (Oʻahu, Maui, Kauaʻi, Hawaiʻi and Kalawao) took effect on January 1, 1906. (Oʻahu County later became the City and County of Honolulu in 1909.)

In the late-1920s, Carter built ‘Lihiwai’ (water’s edge) with 26 major rooms and over 26,000-square feet under roof, it is reportedly “the largest and finest private residence ever constructed in Hawaiʻi (with the exception of ʻIolani Palace.)” (NPS)

Two waterways (an ʻauwai and Nuʻuanu Stream) flow through the property, thus the property’s name. You cross the ʻauwai over a coral bridge.

Completed in 1928 (and occupied by the Carters from 1928-1945,) the home was designed by Hardie Phillip (he was the architect for the Honolulu Academy of Arts (built at the same time (1927-28), and the C. Brewer and Co. Building (1929.))

The entire building is built of shaped bluestone set in concrete and steel reinforced cement, and all the perimeter walls are 2 – 3-feet thick with the exception of the end walls, which are 6-feet thick.

Originally, the building was connected to two smaller structures — by a breezeway on the eastern side and by the porte-cochere on the western side (these structures were separated in 1957.)

The roof over the front portion of the house is a double pitched hipped style roof made of flat Spanish terracotta tiles. The beams in the attic that support the roof are all steel I beams, and the hand carved eave beams (and supporting wood) are all teak. One concrete chimney rises from the roof and serves all 3 interior fireplaces.

The floors of the vestibule, downstairs foyer, upstairs foyer, upstairs hallways, and upstairs rear balcony are made of stone. The drawing room floors are ʻōhiʻa (ʻŌhiʻa lehua) parquet, and the formal dining room, music room, and upstairs bedrooms and guest suites have ʻōhiʻa strip flooring; slate is in other rooms.

The property was originally 10-acres, all professionally landscaped, but the estate was subdivided and sold in 1945 after the death of Helen Strong Carter. Today, the property includes the original house on a little over 1-acre.

Carter died February 11, 1933; he is buried at Oʻahu Cemetery. (Lots of information from Yale-edu and NPS.)