The way is long, the way is steep,
the road is crooked, the holes are deep;
on the Half Way House a blessing be?
Lord bless this house, and the thoroughbred flea,
For man may swear, and woman may weep.
But the cursed flea won’t let you sleep;
In the early morn, arise and go
The remaining way to the Lava flow
To the brink of the Pit of fiery depth
The Volcano House upon its width. …
(Max Pracht, San Francisco, 16 May 16, 1884)
(NPS, Volcano House Register)
In the 1800s, tourism was already developing as an important part of Hawaii’s economy. Honolulu was the principal destination and excursions to Kilauea crater were the main drawing card of the island of Hawai’i. Only hardy souls braved the “discomforts of the journey from Honolulu to the Volcano [which] were often vexatious and always considerable.” (Manning)
Two routes may be taken to the crater Kilauea, on the slope of Mauna Loa, one by Puna, the other by Ola‘a. Time being an object, the trip to and from the crater via Olaa can be accomplished in three days, which will give one day and two nights at the volcano house. (Manning)
The most traveled route between Hilo and Kīlauea was the Volcano Trail, which we now refer to as the “Old Volcano Trail” (at the time called “the Volcano Road”). (McEldowney)
The alignment of the Old Volcano Trail was mapped as early as 1874 by John M. Lydgate who referred to the Old Volcano Trail as “Road to Hilo”. The trail appears as a meandering line that straddled the ahupua‘a of ʻŌlaʻa and Keaʻau and strays in and out of the boundaries between the two. (ASM)
A critical step toward developing agriculture in ʻŌlaʻa was the creation of a new road between Hilo and Kīlauea located mauka of the Old Volcano Trail. As the new Volcano Road through ʻŌlaʻa was being built, the Crown made a large portion of potential agricultural lands (Ola‘a Reservation) available for lease and homesteading. (ASM)
The old trail effectively adjoins and runs mauka of the mauka lots in the mass of lots subdivided in Puna in the 1950s-70s (Hawaiian Acres to Fern Forest).
“Fifteen miles from Hilo Olaa is reached, the half-way stopping place. The intermediate territory is covered with ti plant and ferns, while the road consists mostly of pahoehoe lava, scantily covered with bunch grass and occasional bushes and trees.”
“‘The Half-way House’ at Olaa is merely a cluster of grass houses, a passable rest for travelers, who wish to spend the night, and obtain pasturage for horses.” (Whitney, 1875)
“There were at least two different structures over the years. The first probably existed as early as 1867, certainly by 1870. This structure was a one-room grass house with a wooden porch or lanai.”
“The interior was ‘divided in half by a curtain; in one half … a large four-poster bed, rough table and chairs, and in the other … a thick layer of grass covered with mats, on which … the whole family sleep.’”
“Those stopping during the day often used a mattress stuffed with pulu fiber from tree fern fronds laid on the floor instead of the four-poster bed. Around 1880, Hawelu [the operator] built a hale la‘au, a substantial frame house with glass windows.”
“The new halfway house is mentioned in a promotional brochure, ‘The Great Volcano of Kilauea,’ designed by the publishers, Wilder’s Steamship Company, to attract tourists to ‘that extraordinary wonder of nature,’ Kilauea crater.”
“During the Hilo-Volcano horseback trip, the writer suggests a stop to rest at the halfway house, saying, “This house of accommodation has five bedrooms and the usual conveniences of a stopping place. …’” (Manning)
“Here several orange trees display their rich fruit in sight of the road. Although this point is 1138 feet above the sea level, and ten miles from Keaau, (the nearest point on the sea shore) the roar of the sea may be distinctly heard during a heavy surf.”
“Leaving Ola‘a, the route is over pahoehoe in all its varieties, thickly covered with wild grass, straggling ferns, creeping vines, and that vegetation which in tropical lands seeks only water to become impenetrable.” (Whitney, 1875)
“For more than 20 years, Hawelu and Lipeka operated a rest stop or halfway house on the Hilo-Kilauea crater trail. This horseback trip was said to ‘try the patience of most travelers.’”
“Tired and weary travelers could turn off the trail near ‘Kalehuapuaa . . . where there is a mauka road which goes to Hawelu’s.’ Over the years, halfway houses were variously situated along the trail.”
“Hawelu’s house was on the Hilo side of Mahiki. Visitors record that Hawelu’s was anywhere between 13 and 15 miles from Hilo, at an elevation of 1,138 or 1,150 feet. [“A comparison of the many descriptions places Hawelu’s near a point parallel with the Hilo end of present-day Mountain View, but on the Kea’au-‘Ola’a border”.]
“A visitor might rest at Hawelu’s for a few hours or overnight. Heavy rains occasionally stranded people at the halfway house for one or two days.”
“Each service was independently priced, but the price was the same regardless of the service. Horseshoeing was a dollar, food was a dollar, and lodging was a dollar. Lipeka was a full partner. The profits were divided in half, with Lipeka acting as banker.” (Manning)
“Travelers variously reported the accommodations as beautiful and clean or dreary and dirty! Male travelers complained more than females. Women seem to have expected rough ‘camp’ conditions. … Travelers throughout the Kingdom reported their tortures.” (Manning)
As noted by one in the Volcano House Register, “The undersigned left Hilo Friday morning June 7th at 6:30 a.m. Jo Puni as guide. Directly after leaving Hilo they received a moderate wetting down with a sun shower, wh. awakened them to the realities of Hawaiian travelling.”
“It was quite sultry until they arrived at the Half-way House, when a very distinct change in temperature was experienced. Showers of rain kept ahead of them from there to the Volcano House.”
“At the Half-way House a very good meal was heartily enjoyed, and a rest of two hours taken. They arrived at the Volcano House at 3:55 p.m. June 7.”
“The volcano was apparently quite active during the night, but the ride had fatigued your humble servants sufficiently to enable them to sleep soundly. They started for the crater at 7:45 a.m. and traveled down at a jog trot.” (Godwin McNeil, Sacramento, Cal., June 8, 1878; NPS, Volcano House Register)
With the new road, in May 1891 the Kilauea Volcano House began offering a package tour. It included steamer passage from Honolulu, a carriage ride from Hilo to the end of the half-finished road, and saddle horses supplied by Volcano Stables for the remaining ride. Accommodations were provided at the Volcano House.
In the same year, JR Wilson built Mountain View House as a rest stop on the new road. Little, if any, business would have been left to Hawelu’s independent halfway house by 1891 and he stopped his operation about that time. (Manning)
