Images of Old Hawaiʻi

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Kahana

Forever I shall sing the praises
Of Kahana’s beauty unsurpassed
The fragrance of beauteous mountains
By the zephyrs to thee is wafted
(Written for Mary Foster and her country home at Kahana)

The island of Oʻahu is divided into 6 moku (districts), consisting of: ‘Ewa, Kona, Koʻolauloa, Koʻolaupoko, Waialua and Waiʻanae. These moku were further divided into 86 ahupua‘a (land divisions within the moku.)

Kahana (Lit., the work, cutting or turning point;) approximately 5,250-acres, is one of the 32 ahupua‘a that make up the moku of Koʻolauloa on the windward and north shore side of the island.  It extends from the top of the Koʻolau mountain (at approximate the 2,700-foot elevation) down to the ocean.

The ahupuaʻa of Kahana, like all land in Hawai`i prior to the Great Māhele of 1848, belonged to the King. It is estimated that a population of 600 – 1,000 people lived here at the time of the arrival of Captain Cook (1778,) and about 200 at the time of the Māhele.

Much of the lower marshland surrounding the river was planted with taro; the higher dryland area leading to the ridges on both sides of the river was planted with trees, sugar cane, banana and sweet potato.  Groves of bamboo, ti leaves, kukui and hala trees at various locations indicate significant areas of ancient dwelling places.  (Kaʻanaʻana)

Ane Keohokālole, mother of King Kalākaua and Queen Liliʻuokalani received the bulk of the ahupuaʻa of Kahana at the Māhele; several kuleana awards to makaʻāinana (commoners) were scattered in the valley, as well as land for a school and roads.

Keohokālole received 5,050-acres, and the kuleana awards totaled less than 200-acres (the kuleana lands included the house lots and taro loʻi of the makaʻāinana.) The remainder of the ahupuaʻa included undeveloped uplands.

In 1856, Keohokālole and her husband Kapaʻakea created an asset pool, a type of trust.  As trustee, Keohokālole later sold Kahana (May 1857) to AhSing (also known as Apakana,) a Chinese merchant.  (LRB)

These lands later passed through the hands of a few other Chinese merchants  before being bought by a land hui composed of Hawaiian members of the Church of Jesus Chris Latter Day Saints, called the Ka Hui Kuʻai i ka ʻĀina ʻo Kahana in 1874. The hui had 95 members; most members getting one share, and a few receiving multiple shares.  (LRB)

The hui movement was not isolated to Kahana, it was throughout the Islands.  They were formed as an attempt to retain or reestablish part of the old system that predated private ownership granted through the Māhele.  (Stauffer)

Here, each shareholder had his or her own house lot and taro loʻi, but all had an undivided interest in the pasture and uplands, and in the freshwater rights, ocean fishing rights and Huilua fishpond.

Each member was allowed an equal share in the akule that were caught, and could have up to six animals running freely on the land (additional animals would be paid at a quarter per year.)  (LRB)

When the call came in the late-1880s for Mormons to gather at Salt Lake City, many from Kahana wanted to leave for Utah with other Hawaiian Mormons; at least a third of the founders of the Hawaiian Mormon Iosepa (Joseph) Colony in Utah were from Kahana.  (Stauffer)

Then, Mary Foster (daughter of James Robinson and wife of Thomas Foster – an initial organizer of the Inter-Island Steam Navigation Company, that later became Hawaiian Airlines) became involved in purchasing interests in land in Kahana.

This was the beginning a “bitter economic and legal struggle” with Kāneʻohe Ranch for control of the valley.  An out of court settlement was reached in 1901 in which Mary Foster bought out the Ranch’s interest, giving her a controlling interest in Kahana.

With added acquisitions, by 1920, she eventually owned 97% of the valley.  Mrs. Foster died in 1930, and Kahana passed to her estate and was held in trust for her heirs.

When World War II broke out, the military moved the Japanese families out, and in 1942 the US Army Corps of Engineers erected a jungle warfare training center in the valley.

In 1955, the Robinson Agency, acting as the agent for the Foster Estate, contracted with a planner for feasibility studies on Kahana. The report recommended making an authentic South Sea island resort village – an inn with 20 rooms, creating a small lake in the valley, and a nine-hole golf course.  Nothing happened as a result of this plan.

A study on usage of the valley as a public park was done, but no action was taken. Also in 1962, a private foundation presented a plan to create a scientific botanical garden.

In 1965, John J. Hulten (real estate appraiser and State Senator) prepared a report for DLNR noting that Kahana was ideally suited to be a regional park, offering seashore water sports, mountain camping, and salt and freshwater fishing, and a tropical botanical garden. “Properly developed it will be a major attraction with 1,000,000 visits annually.”

The “proper development” he had in mind included 600 “developable acres” for camping, fishing, hiking, horseback riding, and swimming, and foresaw over 1,000 camping sites plus cabins, restaurant, and shops.

He said that a hotel and other commercial buildings could be developed, and wanted the creation of a 50 acre lake.  All of this development would be assisted by a botanical garden and a mauka road from Likelike Highway to Kahana.

In 1965, the State condemned the property for park purposes with a $5,000,000 price, paid in five annual installments (which included some federal funds.)   By 1969, the State owned Kahana free and clear.

A 1987 law authorized DLNR to issue long term residential leases to individuals who had been living on the lands and provided authorization for a residential subdivision in Kahana Valley. In 1993, the Department entered into 65 year leases covering 31 residential properties – in lieu of rent payments, the lessees are required to contribute at least twenty-five hours of service each month.

A later law (2008) created the Living Park Planning Council, placed within the DLNR for administrative purposes. The purpose of the Council was to create a master plan and advise the Department of matters pertaining to the park.

Kahana Valley State Park was renamed the Ahupuaʻa ʻo Kahana State Park in November 2000.  Kahana is the second-largest state park in the state park system (Na Pali Coast State Park is larger, at 6,175 acres.)

© 2022 Hoʻokuleana LLC

 

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Hawaiians Leaving Home

We consistently hear of folks coming to Hawaiʻi, but often overlook that many were/are out-migrating from Hawaiʻi.

And, the increased scale of migration between Hawaiʻi and California and other parts of the continent may have started with us to them, rather than the reverse.

There is historical evidence suggesting that Hawaiians began moving to the US mainland as early as the late-1700s for economic survival.

As early as 1811, Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) had already hired twelve Hawaiians on three year contracts to work for them in the Pacific Northwest. By 1824, HBC employed thirty-five Hawaiians west of the Rocky Mountains.

The number of Hawaiians working as contract laborers for the Hudson’s Bay Company steadily grew. The large number of Hawaiian workers in the village at Fort Vancouver led to the name “Kanaka Town” in the early 1850s – “Kanaka” is the word for “person” in the Native Hawaiian language.

Historians suggest “that young Hawaiian males left Hawai’i as workers on whaling ships and traveled to China, Europe, Mexico, and the U.S. mainland. In addition, many ventured into the Pacific Northwest territory, worked in the fur trade, and ended up settling in those areas.” (pbs-org)

In 1839, John Sutter brought a small group of native Hawaiians with him when he arrived in California. They worked for him and eventually intermarried with local Maidu families. They settled in the area of Vernon, which is now called Verona, where the Feather River flows into the Sacramento River in South Sutter County. (co-sutter-ca-us)

At the time of Sutter’s arrival in California, the territory had a population of only 1,000 Europeans, in contrast with 30,000 Native Americans. It was at that point a part of Mexico and the governor, Juan Bautista Alvarado, granted him permission to settle.

In order to qualify for a land grant, Sutter became a Mexican citizen on August 29, 1840 after a year in the provincial settlement; the following year, on June 18, he received title to 48,827 acres and named his settlement New Helvetia, or “New Switzerland.”

Sutter employed Native Americans of the Miwok and Maidu tribes, Kanakas and Europeans at his compound, which he called Sutter’s Fort.

In his memoirs, Sutter recalled the Hawaiians, using a name then common to describe Hawaiian workers, “I could not have settled the country without the aid of these Kanakas.” They also built the first settlers’ homes in Sacramento – grass shacks, or hale pili, made with California willow and bamboo.

“In the summer of 1865 some Hawaiian fishermen and their “wahine,” who had sailed the placid Pacific in search of new realms for their nomad spirits, arrived in San Francisco bay only to discover that the cool fogs bred dire distress in lungs …”

“… used to none but the fervid breezes of a tropic sea, so on they kept until, after a day and night of clear weather, they reached Vernon, a busy farming community on the banks of the Feather river.” (The San Francisco Call – March 26, 1911)

“It was here that San Mahalone and his companions built their huts and that today their children and grandchildren are peopling this colony this begun over 40-years ago, preserving their individuality and accumulating properties and competencies on the fertile lands of Sutter county.” (The San Francisco Call – March 26, 1911)

“Hawaiians also migrated to Yolo County, California to participate in the Gold Rush and created their own Kanaka Village. There is evidence that Hawaiians settled across California in the late-1800s and even intermarried with Native Americans.”

“Many scholars speculate that Hawaiians migrated to the mainland in order to gain more economic opportunity and to flee from the dramatic Westernization that was changing the face of Hawai’i.” (pbs-org)

In 1894, at Iosepa in Utah, “the colony of Hawaiians established in Skull Valley, Tooele county comes in with a splendid showing this year. This is all the more satisfactory when the difficulties which the colonists have had to contend with are considered.” (Deseret Evening News – December 22, 1894)

“Last spring a few members of the colony accepted the government invitation to return to the Sandwich Islands. Several of these have written back, expressing the wish that they were here, and declaring an intention to return to the colony as soon as practical.” (Deseret Evening News – December 22, 1894)

The Hawaiians’ legacy can be seen today in the places named with Hawaiian words. Theses include include Kanaka, Owyhee (an old Hawaiian name for Hawaii) and Kamai (named after the Hawaiian Kama Kamai): the Kanaka Glade in Mendocino County, California …

… Kanaka Creek in Sierra County, California; Kanaka Bars in Trinity County, California; Kanaka Flats in Jacksonville, Oregon; Kanaka Gulch, Oregon; Owyhee River in southeastern Oregon; and Kamai Point, British Columbia.

Of course, this summary only highlights some of the early outmigration of Hawaiians from Hawaiʻi. Recent decades has seen a flurry of movement of Hawaiians (and others) from Hawaiʻi to the continent. (Some areas on the continent show over 100% increases decade-by-decade in the number of Hawaiians living there.)

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Iosepa

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints traces its beginnings to Joseph Smith, Jr on April 6, 1830 in Western New York.  He and five others incorporated The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Fayette, New York.

As early as 1844, missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (popularly called the Mormons) were working among the Polynesians in Tahiti and surrounding islands.

“The Mormons are said to have commenced their mission (in Hawaiʻi) in 1850. Their converts are scattered over all the islands.   They number about nine per cent of all those who in the census returns have reported their religious affiliations.”  (The Friend, December 1902)

In the summer of 1850, in California, elder Charles C Rich called together more elders to establish a mission in the Sandwich Islands.  They arrived December 12, 1850, but within six weeks, only half stayed.  Later, more came.

Church membership grew fast in the Hawaiian Islands, where the native Polynesian people were quick to embrace the teachings of the gospel.

Many of these Hawaiian converts felt a strong desire to come to Zion, where they could do temple work for themselves and for their ancestors.

In 1889, a group of three Hawaiian converts and three returned missionaries was assigned to choose a location. After considering possibilities in Cache, Weber and Utah counties, they selected a 1,920-acre site in Skull Valley, known as the Quincy Ranch or the Rich Ranch (about 75-miles southwest of Salt Lake City,) as a gathering place for the South Sea Islanders.

According to some accounts, Skull Valley received its name from buffalo skulls found there, and some Indian tales relate that Tooele County was a favored ground for buffalo before the coming of white men to the area.  (Blanthorn)

On August 28, 1889, lots were drawn for plots of land that had room for a home, garden, barn and corral.  (August 28 was later designated as Hawaiian Pioneer Day.)

A sawmill was purchased and the Polynesians built homes, a chapel/assembly hall, a school and a store in their community.

The colony was organized as a joint stock company, the Iosepa Agriculture and Stock Company, owned by the LDS Church.

At its height, Iosepa was home to 228-people, mostly Hawaiians, but also Samoans, Maoris, Portuguese, Scots and English. In the 10-year period from 1907 through 1916, 48 babies were born, while 29 people died.  (Poulsen)

The Polynesians raised pigs and fished for the carp that grew in the ponds in the vicinity to add to the crops they grew. A few Anglos resided in the town, working as supervisors on the Skull Valley farm.  (UtahHistoryToGo)

Utah historian J Cecil Alter wrote in 1911, “Iosepa is perhaps the most successful individual colonization proposition that has been attempted by the Mormon people in the United States …”

“There are 1,120-acres practically all in use and half as much more is being brought under the magic wand of the Hawaiian irrigator.” (Poulsen)

Although they managed to get by most of time, much of their food was imported from Salt Lake City. New hopefuls came from the Islands only to turn away after seeing what life was like in Iosepa.  (GhostTowns-org)

Gold was being mined in the nearby mountains.  Many of the men departed the colony to work in the mines and did not return. As deaths from pure hardship outnumbered births, it was only a question of time until the town itself would die.  (GhostTowns-org)

In addition to economic difficulties, there were other problems for the settlement. In 1896 three cases of leprosy were discovered and the victims were isolated in a special house, although fears of the spread of leprosy were unfounded.

The harsh environment – burning heat in the summer and extreme cold in the winter – took its toll on the settlers, as witnessed by the large number of graves in the cemetery.  (UtahHistoryToGo)

Utah’s Iosepa Colony lasted as a community until 1917, at which time the residents returned to Hawaiʻi where the Hawaiian Mormon Temple was under construction – from that point, Iosepa was virtually abandoned.

For decades, the only evidence that the town had ever even existed was a small cemetery with the names of those who had lost their lives in Iosepa.  (Poulsen)

As the years passed, the town that had flourished at the turn of the century, slowly fell into disrepair and was neglected by most of the outside world, with the occasional exception of a few groups such as the Boy Scouts and some BYU organizations who did a little repair work.  (Poulsen)

In 1980, Vermin Hawes, a direct descendant of two Iosepa families, organized Memorial Day activities at the old town site, where she and a few other Polynesians from Utah gathered for the event. That year, the group repaired the fence and beautified the area.    (Poulsen)

Since then, this once small group has held annual Memorial Day activities that have gathered more momentum each year and have made Iosepa the gathering place for Polynesians from all over the West.  (Poulsen)

Click Here for 360-degree view of Iosepa.

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