Lanai Ranch | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

In the middle 1800s, ranching became a significant economic engine in the Hawaiian Islands. On Lānai, Mānele Landing served as the port of call for ships picking up cattle, sheep and goats; and also in service of passengers and freight.

Ranching was the primary commercial enterprise on Lānai between 1860 to 1922. Initial activities focused on goats and sheep, but by the early 1900s cattle had become the primary stock.

To ship the cattle (in Hawaiian, pipi) to Honolulu, the animals were driven down to Mānele, held in pens, and then loaded on interisland steamers.

“They used to send cattle out, and then the Inter-island Steam [Navigation] Company’s boat, you know, freighters, used to come in, take those cattle to Honolulu, O’ahu, anyway.” (Fusako Nishimura Uchimura, UHM Oral History)

“In the early 1900s there were not as many wharves as there are today, and it was in few places that stock could be loaded onto the vessels through chutes as is more general now. The steamer would be anchored out from the shore and a heavy line run to some attachment on the land.”

“A boat was then tied to this shoreline and held in deep water. The cattle would be in a corral above high water or were driven out into the water and kept there by the surrounding cowboys.”

“On Lānai the corral was at Mānele at the top of a wide beach separating it from the sea. A lasso was thrown over the horns of one of the animals in the corral, the other end held by a man on horseback, and it was herded out and down the beach following the horse.”

“The animal’s efforts to escape brought it into the water as the horse headed for the boat. When within reach, just as the led animal lost its footing and the horse was reaching for the bottom with its hind feet the cowboy threw the rope to the men in the boat who would then throw another rope back to him.”

“The boat, with several beasts securely tied to the thwarts on each side, would be towed back to the steamer. Slings were adjusted to the animals and in turn they were hoisted to the deck and tied along the sides.”

“In fine weather this worked out well, but when rough it was risky, and sometimes cattle were injured or drowned. … so we devised a portable chute in sections, for bringing the stock to the water’s edge. The sections were drawn up when not in use. This was a great improvement, but we were not yet satisfied.”

“A corral was then built at the top of a low cliff overlooking a small tidal shelf with fairly deep water close to it. A chute was run out to above the edge of the tidal shelf close to deep water and supported there by posts.”

“Into this another chute was telescoped which, when run out over the water, reached to the deck of the steamer. By using a calf led down the chute, the large cattle were induced to follow, and the loading was done in a few minutes.”

“The calf was brought ashore ready for the next shipment. The steamer then pulled out, and the cattle were tied up as she proceeded on her way.”

“Even with this method, the work could still prove more or less harassing with changes of weather. After the Hawaiian Pineapple Company built the Kaumalapau Harbor and wharf, the cattle were shipped from the wharf through a chute. The pen and chutes were movable and, when not in use, kept out of the way of other work.” (Munro:105)

“I think more in the ‘20s, maybe, that’s when they built that chute. That thing was really something. You know they’d lead the calf down. The cows all follow the calf, they go right onto the ship.”

“But one time that thing broke, the cattle fell in the water. Some died; some, you see them swim. I didn’t know they could swim, they good swimmers. The cows, yeah.” (Violet Keahikoe Gay, UHM Oral History)

“They put the chute down onto the deck of the ship, and the ship would be going [i.e., bobbing] up and down, and the cattle would be bawling their heads off, and they’d have to be prodded to go down this chute to get onto the deck of the ship.” (Jean Forbes Adams, UHM Oral History)

“When I came over here, they had the chute and they had down. When too rough, the boat no can go by the side [of the chute], so they go by the sand side, everybody go swim. Over there, they rope ‘em and drag ‘em inside the water.” (Ernest S. Richardson, UHM Oral History)

After Kaumālapa’u harbor was built, “they still used Manele and the chute … Probably, since that was all built there. Yeah, Kaumalapau was strictly for pineapple shipping.” (Jean Forbes Adams, UHM Oral History)

With construction of the chute, the pipi could be driven along the cliffs to the chute and walked across the water onto the waiting boat. In addition to the “Pipi Chute,” a series of mortar salt making beds were built on the shore of the landing in the 1930s.

In May 1943, the salt making beds were moved to the cliffs. On the south side of the boat harbor were the salt beds and an old fence line that contained cattle as they were being driven down the chute for shipping to Honolulu. The salt beds were periodically filled with salt water, which evaporated and provided fresh sea salt for drying meat and treating hides.

On rough days, when the steamers couldn’t safely draw along the Mānele cliff side, cattle were driven into the ocean at Hulopo’e Beach. They were then tied up to a launch, which took them out to the steamer, and hoisted onto the boat for transport. Typically, anywhere from 30 to 70 cattle from Lānai were shipped in one trip.

By 1918, Charles Gay and family began experiments in planting pineapple on Lānai in the uplands near what would become Lānai City. Once harvested, the fruits would be taken by truck down to Mānele Landing via a stone and dirt trail that was almost impassable.

The crop was then loaded onto a small boat and transferred to Maui for canning. It was a difficult trip which caused the loss of much of the fruit, due to bruising. However, as a result of the Gay family’s success, James Dole’s Hawaiian Pineapple Company knew that the crop could be grown, and in 1922 Dole purchased almost the entire island of Lānai.

And the rest, as they say, “is history.”

Lānai’s formal ranching period ran from approximately 1854 to 1951 – longer than the cultivation of pineapple on the island. The ranch headquarters, situated about one mile away from what is now the city was at a place known as Kō‘ele.

Prior to 1923 and the arrival of James Dole, the Kō‘ele headquarters of the Lānai Ranch was the closest thing to a town in the uplands of Lānai. The only other historic “city” or village was situated on the windward shore of Lānai, at Keomuku – which had originally been built as the center of operations for the Maunalei Sugar Company (1898 to 1901). (Kepa Maly)

Walter Murray Gibson and other followers of the Mormon Church started a settlement on land they had purchased. Shortly thereafter, Gibson was excommunicated for allegedly misusing church funds; the settlement failed and the Mormons left the island.

Gibson remained and consolidated the 26,000 acres of land he controlled to form Lānai Sheep Ranch, headquartered in Palawai. By 1867, Gibson’s ranch consisted of 10,000 sheep and 18,000 goats.

By 1875, despite protests by Lānai; residents, Gibson controlled 90 percent of Lānai; lands either in fee simple or long-term leases, for ranching and farming operations. After Gibson’s death in 1888, the ranch was turned over to his daughter and son-in-law, Talula and Frederick Hayselden.

The ranch, headquartered in Kō‘ele, had grown to number 40,000 sheep, 3,000 Angora goats, 600 horses and 200 head of cattle. Lands making up Lānai Ranch included the former Gibson lands, government-owned land, and some ahupua‘as owned by Honolulu financier WG Irwin.

Despite attempts to increase the ranch’s efficiency and profitability, the Hayseldens lost money. Therefore, in 1898, the Hayseldens established Maunalei Sugar Company. Plagued by financial problems, Hayselden closed the plantation in 1901.

The Gibson estate went into receivership, with financiers WH Pain and Paul Neuman assuming two-thirds of the debt and the remaining land and assets. Charles and Louisa Gay, of the wealthy Gay and Robinson family of Kauai and Ni‘ihau, purchased the properties held by Pain and Neuman in 1902.

By 1907, Gay owned virtually the entire island. The Gay family moved to Lānai in late 1902. The family business is primarily ranching, but with a transition from sheep to cattle.

Between 1902 and 1910, the years of his tenure as landowner and manager, Gay brought up plantation homes for ranch hands from Keomuku to Kō‘ele, laid pipelines, dug reservoirs and wells, erected windmills and fences, installed a water-pumping system in Maunalei Gulch, and began experimental farming.

Gay, who lived in the ranch manager’s home in Ko’ele, also maintained a residence near the beach at Keomuku. He used some of the defunct sugar company’s facilities at Keomuku – such as the brackish-water wells, windmills, and the Kahalepalaoa Landing – to maintain some ranch operations manned by a few employees.

Gay also built a school in Palawai for his own children and that of ranch employees, and a church in Keomuku for use by his family and nearby residents. Although Gay achieved some measure of success after his improvements, he had difficulty turning a profit. He subsequently sold all but 600 acres of his lands in 1910 to a hui of businessmen.

William G Irwin (and his wife), Robert W Shingle and Cecil Brown formed the “Lānai Ranch Company,” which later became the “Lānai Company.” At the time of this sale, the ranch consisted of 22,500 sheep, 250 head of cattle, and 150 horses.

Gay remained on Lānai and, on his 600 acres, farmed corn, watermelons, pineapples and other crops, raised pigs, and built a home in Lalakoa, an area adjacent to present-day Lānai City. He also continued to use his Keomuku home.

In 1911, Lānai Ranch Company hired New Zealander George Munro as ranch manager. Munro, who previously worked at Molokai Ranch, found that because there had been little subdividing of pastureland, the sheep were roaming the island almost at will and the goats had become wild.

Munro, who had a knowledge of and interest in botany, planted hundreds of Norfolk Island pine trees throughout the island to catch fog drip to increase the ground water supply. Also during this time, Lānai Ranch Company began shifting its emphasis from sheep to cattle in order to supply a growing market for beef.

In 1917, Lānai Ranch Company sold the island to Frank and Harry Baldwin of Maui, who continue the cattle ranching operation under the title of “Lānai Ranch.”

Munro, who was to stay on as ranch manager until 1935, continued the shift from sheep to cattle, and reduced the goat population. With the improved water supply, the emphasis on cattle, and the decimation of goats which destroyed grazing lands, Lānai Ranch began making a profit.

In 1922, despite this relative prosperity, the Baldwins sold the island to James D Dole of the Hawaiian Pineapple Company. This began the large-scale pineapple cultivation on Lānai which was to permanently alter the island’s landscape and social fabric while at the same time signaling the decline of Lānai Ranch as the island’s dominant commercial activity.

James Dole and associates planned and started the construction of Lānai City, Kaumālapa‘u Harbor (to ship pineapples and supplies), the plantation fields, and infrastructure needed for development of the plantation.

Dole engaged David Root, James Munro, Tokumatsu Murayama, Hawaiian Dredging and others to develop the plantation. Former pasturelands were cleared and rows upon rows of pineapple were planted. The first buildings in Lānai City were under construction in 1923.

During the decade following its purchase, Hawaiian Pine carefully implemented plans to transform Lānai into a pineapple plantation and ultimately made Lānai the world’s largest pineapple plantation.

As pineapple growing and harvesting began in earnest, the first crop was harvested and shipped in 1926 – Munro reduced the cattle herd and turned over ranch acreage to Hawaiian Pineapple Company. By 1927, of Lānai’s 89,600 acres, pineapple operations accounted for 40,000 acres, Lānai Ranch occupied 44,000 acres, and 5,000 acres were taken up by forest reserve.

In 1935, George Munro, Lānai Ranch manager since 1911, retired. He advised that pineapple, not cattle, be given primary consideration on Lānai, and that the ranch be continued only as long as pineapple-growing was not jeopardized.

The ranch continued to decline in the 1940s. By 1950, there were only a few cowboys to herd up the remaining cattle on the island. The ranch officially closed in 1951.

Castle & Cooke, Inc., which in 1961 acquired 100 percent direct ownership of Hawaiian Pineapple Company (in 1985, David H Murdock purchased Castle & Cooke – which includes much of the island of Lānai). In 1987. construction of the two luxury hotels on Lānai started.

In 1992, the final harvest of pineapple on Lānai took place in October. On November 14. 1992, a “Pau Hana” (“end of work”) gathering was held in Dole Park to commemorate the close of the pineapple era on Lānai.

In 2012, Larry Ellison purchased the island of Lānai – approximately 97 percent of the land on island – and engaged in building a sustainable community through the holding company, Pūlama Lānai. (Lots of information here is from UH Center for Oral History and Lānai Culture & Heritage Center.)