The Maui TimelineA Brief Chronology of Maui’s History

Compiled forThe Story of Hawai’i Museum

by Richard G. Mickelsenand the Tradewinds Production Group

©2016 Story of Hawai‘i Museum

Circa 3rd day - Volcano over mid Pacific hot spot breaks surface. Island that will become Maui is born.

1.2 million years ago - “Maui Nui” stretches 160 miles from the Penguin Bank off Moloka’i to 40 miles beyond Hana, covering 5,640 square miles.

700,000 years ago - Erosion and rising sea levels combine to create Pailolo Channel separating Maui from Moloka’i.

600,000 years ago - Saddle between Lana‘i and Maui submerges, to reappear and disappear due to sea level fluctuations.

200,000 -150,000 years ago - Connection between Kaho‘olawe disappears. Maui, Moloka‘i and Lana‘i are connected off and on by sea level rising and fall-ing from glaciation.

18,000 years ago - Erosion and sea levels reach pres-ent configuration.

500’s AD - Polynesian settlers arrive from Marque-sas, South Pacific. Landing first on the Big Island and naming it Hawai‘i, they spread out to the second island and name it Maui, in honor of Maui-tiki-tiki-a-Taranga, a legendary warrior/explorer/hero.

1000’s - Second wave of migrants from Tahiti assume political leadership, becoming the Ali‘i class. Long distance contact is maintained among Society, Marquesas, and Hawaiian Islands (none of these island groups were known by these names at this time). Maui, Lana‘i and Kaho‘olawe were important navigational points. Voyaging ends in the 1300’s.

1450 - ‘Umi-a-Liloa, a Hawai‘i chief, sails with a fleet

of war canoes to attack Maui. His fleet stretches from Maui to Hawai‘i. Maui warrior, Ho‘olae-makua leads army to repulse invaders. ‘Umi’s fleet moves down coast but is repelled by sling stones and war clubs un-til they finally land in Wailua below the Ko‘olau Gap. The battle rages back to Hāna where ‘Umi prevails.

1500’s - Pi‘ilani unifies the districts of Maui into one kingdom using warfare. His son Lono-a-Pi‘ilani in-herits, but is deposed by his brother, Kiha-a-Pi‘ilani. Hāna districts are given to ‘Umi, Ali‘i Nui of Hawai‘i Island, for his aid in the take-over, and Maui is divided again. Kiha-a-Pi‘ilani builds the road system that becomes the basis for Honoapi‘ilani Highway in West Maui, Hāna Highway and Kahekili Highway. The great Heiau in Hāna, Hale-o-Pi‘ilani, is named for this family.

1700’s - Kekaulike “The Just” becomes chief on Maui. He fights the Hawai‘i chief Alapa‘i who has designs on Maui, raids Kohala, and cuts down coconut trees in Kawaihai. The Hundred Years War between Maui and Hawai‘i begins with the conflicts between Alapa‘i and Kekaulike.

1760’s - Ka‘ahumanu is born in Hāna. Her father is Ke‘eaumoku, a ranking of-ficer in Kalani‘ōpu‘u‘s army. Her grand-father is Kekaulike, the chief of Maui.

1776 - A fleet of war canoes led by Kalani‘ōpu‘u lands on the leeward side of Maui. The fleet is so large that the landed canoes cover the shoreline from Makena to Honua’ula. Kahekili “The Thunder” becomes Ali‘i nui (king) of Maui. He repels invasion of Hawaiian army in the battle at Sand Hills or Kekanilua (called “The Battle of the Feather Cloaks” because so many ali‘i died).

1778 - Mauians discover Captain Cook off Kahului. Trading com-mences. A cat falls overboard and is returned for reward of an iron adz. Kahekili visits Discovery, Captain Clerk, on November 26th. On November 30th, Kamehameha spends the night off Hāna aboard Resolution visiting with Captain Cook.

launched Friday, July 11from Māla Wharf in Lāhainā.

2016 - HC&S announces a halt to growing sugar.

BibliographyMowee an Informal History of the Hawaiian Island

by Cummins E. Speakman, Jr.Lana’i by Ruth Tabrah.

Log of the HMS RaccoonJournal of a Residence in the Sandwich Isles

by C. S. StewartHonolulu Advertiser

Honolulu Star-BulletinMaui News

Thrum’s Hawaiian Annual (almanac)Geology of the State of Hawaii by Harold T. StearnsUniversity of Hawaii web pages: History of Maui

Maui Cattle Company web history pageThe Battle of Nu’uanu 1795, An Illustrated Pocket

Guide to the O’ahu Battlefield by Neil Bernard Dukas

Hawaiian Aviation ArchivesSchooner to Windward by Mifflin Thomas

Aloha Tower Maritime ChronologyHawaii Maritime Museum Chronology

Bob Krauss ArchivesMaui Pineapple Website

- Kapalua Land Company is formed to convert ag-ricultural land into resort hotels. Famous Fleming Beach is renamed and developed into Kapalua Bay Re-sort, a luxury hotel. Ritz Carlton follows in 1992 after controversy over unearthing of ancient burials. Within 20 years, both resorts are sold off.

1976 - Hōkūle‘a, the modern-day replica of an ancient voyaging canoe, sets out from Honolua Bay for Tahiti. Using no modern navigational equipment, sailing by stars and wave patterns, the 31 day voyage is complet-ed when the Hōkūle‘a makes landfall at Mataiva Atoll in the Tuamotos.

- Carthaginian II opens as museum.

1992 - Dole Food Co. closes down its pineapple plan-tation on Lāna’i.

- Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanc-tuary established.

1994 - U.S. Navy transfers Island of Kaho‘olawe to the jurisdiction of the State of Hawai‘i.

1998 - Maui Ocean Center opens.

1999 - Pioneer Mill closes.

2005 - Carthaginian is sold to Atlantis Submarines, who sink it as underwater feature for submarine ride.

- Ground is broken for Kaheawa Wind Power’s wind farm project above Ma‘alaea.

2006 - Kaheawa Wind Farm powers up.

2007 - 2008 SuperFerry comes and goes due to environmental, legal and political issues.

2011 - Maui Community College becomes University of Hawai‘i Maui College.

2012 Larry Ellison purchases the island of Lāna’i. He ushers in a new wave of prosperity and employment.

2014 - Maui’s voyaging canoe, the Mo‘okiha o Pi‘ilani,

See Historic Maui Map at the Story of Hawai‘i Museum, Queen Ka‘ahumanu Center, Maui, or at storyofhawaiimuseum.com

- Japanese submarine torpedoes and sinks a freighter in the ‘Alanuihāhā Channel between Maui and Hawai‘i Island.

1943 - 1944 - The number of troops stationed on Maui exceeds 100,000. The 4th Marine Division is based in Ha‘ikū. Training maneuvers are conducted on Kihei beaches.

1946 - Maui’s first resort hotel, Hotel Hāna, opens.

1948 - Maui Agricultural Company and HC&S merge under the name HC&S, forming the largest sugar production company in the islands.

1949 - Great Hawaiian Dock Strike: longshore workers in Hawai‘i strike for six months (May 1th to October 25th) to win wage parity with mainland dock workers.

1950 - Inter-Island Steam Navigation Co. terminates its steamship operation. All inter-island freight must move by tug and barge.

1958 - The old Hawaiian fishing technique of using a pet barracuda to lure opelu into the net is still used at Māla by Keoki Keahi, Frank Kahahane and Pedro Villaverde. They have trained 3 barracudas, the old-est named Jacob.

1959 - Hawai‘i becomes the United States’ 50th state..

- Amfac breaks ground for its first hotel at Kā‘anapali.

1960 - Haleakalā National Park is separated from Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. The entire moun-tain is declared a Federal Wilder-ness Area, thereby protecting its unique character in perpetuity.

1961 - An Executive Order by Governor William Quinn sets aside land on the summit of Haleakalā in a place known as Kolekole it is put un-der the control and management of the University of Hawai‘i. This establishes the “Haleakalā High Altitude Observatory Site,” sometimes referred to as Science City.

- Maui’s first planned resort community opens at Kā‘anapali.

- Devil at Four O’clock filmed in Lāhainā and Ka-hakuloa

1962 - Boy Scouts hand-carry 35 Nene geese into Haleakalā Crater. Thirty were bred at WWT Slimbridge, a bird sanctuary in England, and 5 in the state’s Pohakuloa propagation project on the Big Island. The birds were successfully re-introduced to Maui.

1966 - Movie “Hawaii” filmed on O‘ahu. Set piece replica of whale ship Carthaginian is given to Lāhainā Historical Society to use as a museum and tourist attraction.

- Maui Technical School (formally Maui Vocation-al School) is renamed Maui Comunity College and incorporated into the Uiversity of Hawai‘i system.

1969 - The Haleakalā National Park boundaries are expanded to include the Kīpahulu coastal area of ‘Ohe‘o.

- The first hippies arrive and settle in south Maui at Oneloa Beach. The marijuana culture is introduced and Maui’s reputation for the best “pakalolo” is secured. They are not universally welcomed. Com-munities flourish in Pā‘ia, Ha‘ikū, and Nahiku.

1971 - Jimi Hendrix performs in a pasture between Makawao and Olinda for a film “Rainbow Bridge”

1972 - Carthaginian, the replica whaling bark from the movie “Hawaii” converted into a whaling museum, sinks while being towed to Honolulu for maintenance.

1973 - Replacement Carthaginian towed from Swe-den to Lāhainā. Originally built in 1921, she was once used to carry cement in the Baltic. Rigged as a brig, she takes her place in Lāhainā Harbor.

1974 - 6,000 ILWU pineapple workers on O‘ahu, Maui and Lana‘i strike for 21 days.

1782 - Kahekili takes fortress of Ka‘uiki, expelling the Hawaiian invaders from Hāna. Although born on Maui soil, Ka‘ahumanu is the daughter of the Hawai-ian Chief Ke’eaumoku. She is taken to the Big Island to grow up in the Hawaiian court.

1786 - Admiral Jean Francois Galaup de La Perouse visits Maui at Honua‘ula, also known as La Perouse Bay. HMS King George, Captain Nathaniel Portlock and HMS Queen Charlotte, Captain George Dixon (both former Cook protégés) are also sailing Maui’s waters this year.

1790 - Kalolopahu (“The Spilled Brains” aka the Olowalu Massacre) in which American fur trader Si-mon Metcalf fires on the citizens of Olowalu in retalia-tion for the theft of his boat and killing of a crewman.

- Kamehameha invades Maui and defeats Kalanikūpuli (son of Kahekili) in a battle in I‘ao Valley called Kepaniwai (the damming of the waters). He returns to Hawai‘i to quell rebellion there.

1793 - Vancouver visits Maui. He corrects charts, brokers peace between quarreling Kamehameha and Ka‘ahumanu, intro-duces cattle, goats & sheep, and earns a monument in Kihei.

1795 - Battle of Nu‘uanu. By defeating Kalanikupuli on O‘ahu, Kamehameha cements his claim to Maui and marrys Keopuolani, the highest-ranking ali‘i in all the island chain. She becomes the mother of his dynasty.

1802 - Kamehameha moves Peleleu fleet from Kipa-hulu to Kaupo. Kalama reports that he has assembled 800 canoes to invade Kaua‘i. Heiaus are erected and tabus declared. The fleet moves to Lāhainā where Kame‘eiamoku, one of Kamehameha’s closest friends and advisors, dies after confiding that Kahekili the chief of Maui is really Kamehameha’s father. Kame-hameha’s “Brick Palace” (the remains of which can still be seen in the park behind the Lāhainā Library) is built and occupied at this time. During this sojourn, solders are kept occupied rebuilding walls and restor-ing lo‘i, setting up for the prosperity that is to come.

The fleet moves to O‘ahu in 1803, where it is left to rot after the great cholera plague killes most of the army and a storm delayed the invasion of Kaua‘i. In 1810, Kaumuali‘i, Ali‘i nui of Kaua‘i, allies with Kamehameha’s Hawaiian Kingdom, which negates the need for an invasion fleet.

1802 - A Chinese man named Wu Tsin (or Wong Tze Chun) arrives on a schooner and sets up a mill on Lana‘i. He processes sugar for the first time in Hawai‘i and departs.

1803 - First horses brought to Hawai‘i by Captain R. J. Cleveland in the Lilia Bird. Two are landed in Lāhainā and two in Kawaihae.

1819 - Kamehameha dies, naming his son ‘Iolani Liholiho as successor. Ka‘ahumanu declares herself Kahina Nui, an unprecedented title giving her joint ruling power with the king. She convinces Liholiho, his mother Keōpūolani, and high priest Hewahewa to break the Ai Kapu (eating rules). The kapus restricted men and women from eating together and women from eating certain foods like bananas, which Ka‘ahumanu loves. This act effectively puts an end to the old religion of the Hawaiians and paves the way for Christian missionaries to fill the void.

- First Whalers arrive.

1820 - First missionaries arrive. The God-fearing and the godless whalemen (“no God past Cape Horn” was a sailor’s expression) of the Northeastern United States meet on Maui. Most missionaries, whalers and sea-men that came to the Sandwich Islands are New England “Yankees.”

- Red Irish potato introduced to Hawai‘i. It grows best on Maui.

1821 - Dr. Holman, the first Christian missionary assigned to Maui arrives from New England.

1823 - School of Keōpūolani startes in Lāhainā on June 2nd. The Queen is described as “a diligent pupil seldom weary with studies, and often spent hours over her little spelling book.” At age 55, her quest for literacy is to be short lived. But Lāhainā,

1929 - Regular air service by seaplanes is com-menced at Ma‘alaea Airport by Inter Island Airways, someday to become Hawaiian Airlines. The fleet is comprised of two eight-passenger Sikorsky S-38 amphibian planes.

1930 - Convict laborers complete Ma‘alaea Air-port’s dirt runways. They are useless in wet weather.

1932 - Maui Vocational School founded with 5 in-structors and 80 students located where the MEO facilities are now.

1935 - Haleakalā Highway is completed in 1935. Road is mainly composed of switchbacks that lead to the peak of Haleakalā.

1937 - May 1st the first International Workers’ Day Parade in Hawai‘i is held on Maui. Complete with an eight-piece band, 2,500 Filipinos led by a young Filipina holding a Philippine flag march the four miles from Wailuku to Kahului. Signs read, “We Want To Work - But We Want Justice” and “Make This a Workers’ Paradise.” That evening, crewmen from the S.S. Golden Cloud provide entertainment, give donations, and assure maritime support.

- April 10th to June 16th at Pu‘unene, Maui, the Filipino labor union Vibora Luviminda conducts Hawai‘i’s last racially exclusive strike.

1938 - Pu‘unene Airport opens with one runway. Ma‘alaea Airport is condemned by Federal Bureau of Air Com-merce. They found that the airport was too close to the West Maui Mountains.

1941 - After Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, De-cember 7th, all airfields in the islands are milita-rized. Pu‘unene Airport is expanded, and the Na-val Air Station Kahului Airport (NASKA) is built.

- Japanese submarine sur-faces off Kahului Harbor on December 15th. With her deck gun the crew fire a few shells at what they think is a munitions train and blow up some pineapples.

being the royal seat and missionary center, becomes the education capital of the kingdom. Ka‘ahumanu proclaims that “all children shall learn the palapala (writing).”

- Keōpūolani dies in Lāhainā. She is the last of the Niaupi‘o chiefs, born of a royal brother-sister union (Kiwala‘to and Kalola, children of Kalani‘ōpu‘u, grandchildren of Kekaulike). Niaupi‘o were the highest ranking of the Ali‘i. By mothering Kame-hameha’s progeny, she assured that the highest royal bloodlines of Maui and Hawai‘i were represented in the dynasty.

1824 - King ‘Iolani Liholiho (Kamehameha II) and his wife Kamamalu decide to visit England, where they succumb to measles. Their bodies are brought home to Lāhainā. Liholiho’s brother Kauikeaouli, is named successor. Ka‘ahumanu becomes Regent for the 11 year old Kamehameha III, retaining power over the Kingdom of Hawai‘i.

Kaumuali‘i, High Chief of Kaua‘i, dies. He was mar-ried to Ka’ahumanu after the death of Kamehameha to finally unite Kaua‘i with the “Windward Islands.” Ka‘ahumanu was truly enamoured of him. The com-bined deaths of two beloved (and powerful) hus-bands, useful colleague and good friend Keōpūolani, and two adopted children affect Ka‘ahumanu. She turns into an untiring promoter of Jehovah, be-comes Christian, and chooses the Christian name Elizabeth.

- Whaling ships anchoring at Lāhainā Roads num-ber 100.

- Missionary C. S. Stewart describes surfing at Lāhainā: “It is a daily amusement at all times, but the more terrific the surf, the more delightful the pastime to those skillful in the management of the board.”

1825 - First Lāhainā riot breaks out when whalers roam the streets an-gered by laws pro-hibiting women from visiting ships. Laws that regulate morality still lead to disagree-ments to this day.

1826 - One such disagreement prompted a Captain Wilkinson of the British whaler Wellington to throw a cask of water known to be contaminated overboard, introducing the mosquito to Lāhainā (and thereby to all Hawai‘i) for the first time,.

1827 - Whaler men of John Palmer fire their cannon on Lāhainā town to protest the seizure of their skip-per, Captain Clark, by Governor Hoapili for breaking the kapu forbidding women aboard ship.

1828 - Chinese merchants establish Hungtai Sugar Works in Wailuku. Sugar is first milled in Waikapū.

- Waiola Church, the first stone church on Maui, is built in Lāhainā.

- A surfer in Lāhainā is killed by a shark during a visit by Kamehameha III and Boki, his Prime Minister.

1831 - Lahainaluna School opens, said to be the oldest school west of the Rockies. Tradition has it that the first buildings fell during a storm because the builders ignored the site location advice of the local kahuna. The second buildings, properly located, were built of wood brought from East Maui: 35 miles across land to Ma‘alaea bay and by way of canoes to Lāhainā.

1832 - Ka‘ahumanu sails to Lāhainā aboard Mikapala. People from all over Maui gather to meet her, and she announces the construction of a fort to deal with vio-lence offered by unruly whalers. The fort is completed in a month. She meets David Malo and advises him to get an education and become an advisor and office holder. With Hoapili, Governor of Maui, she enacts laws to strengthen the government, abolish prostitu-tion, and require legal marriage. This law forbids men and women from living together unless they are mar-ried, and restricts marriage to those able to read and write. One result of this and other encouragements is the highest literary rate per capita in the world, a feat unequalled until the 20th century by first world na-tions! Another was a famine with everybody learning to read and nobody producing food.

- Kamehameha III invites skilled Spanish-Mexican vaqueros to help with capturing and slaughtering problematic herds of wild cattle

1913 - Kahului Rail Road (K.R.R.) builds a railroad to Hāna, including an enormous trestle across Maliko Gulch - the highest trestle ever con-structed in the islands at 230 feet.

1916 - Hawai‘i National Park is established by Prince Jonah Kuhio, Hawai‘i’s territorial delegate in the U.S. Congress. The park includes the sum-mit of Haleakalā.

1918 - First flight to Maui is made by Army Major Harold Clark on May 9th, taking off from Fort Kamehameha on Oahu. When Major Clark tries to continue the flight to the Big Island, he crashes on the slopes of Mauna Kea. It takes him and his passenger two days and nights to walk out to civi-lization. This was the first inter-island flight. Soon thereafter, several Army pilots fly HS-2 aircraft to Hawai‘i, Maui, Moloka’i and Kaua‘i.

1920 - Charles Fern carries the first paying pas-senger inter-island from Kapiolani Park to a polo field in Makawao on February 1st. Between Moloka‘i and Maui, Fern’s gas gauge malfunc-tions, indicating an empty tank and forcing him to land in a pasture near the Cooke Ranch office on Moloka‘i. After refueling, he heads for Maui. Un-able to locate the polo field, he lands instead at the fairgrounds in Kahului.

- Baldwin Packers starts canning pineapple grown by D. T. Fleming on Honolua Ranch.

1922 - Māla Wharf, near Lāhainā, opens in early April to provide docking facilities for ships. The location proves to be bad in a heavy surge.

1923 - Aviator Charles Stoffer in “Charley’s Crate” delivers the Honolulu Sunday newspaper to Moloka‘i and then Maui, landing at Camp One near Spreckelsville. He begins a flight service to Maui and Moloka‘i from Honolulu.

1924 - Calvin Coolidge signs the Exclusion Act into law, effectively ending Japanese immigration to the U.S.

1927 - Maui’s first airport is built at Ma’alaea.

- A new steam tug, the Kapiolani, arrives for use in Kahului harbor. She is owned by Claus Spreckles.

1881 - Scandinavian contract laborers, mostly Norwegians from the Beta, land at Ma‘alaea, on February 18th.

1883 - Inter-Island packets Nettie Merrill and Haleakala are rivals on Lāhainā run. Their races make news.

1884 - A rubble stone breakwater is construct-ed at Kahului to improve the harbor.

- Newly named Kahului Railroad expands passen-ger and freight service to Pā’ia.

1885 - Japanese peasants begin arriving in large numbers, mostly from southern prefectures, for plantation work.

1886 - The Hawaiian Kingdom Chinese Exclu-sion Act is passed, prohibiting further importa-tion of Chinese labor after 1888.

1889 - David and Henry Perrine Baldwin pur-chase land in west Maui at Honolua and Hono-kohau. They plan to experiment with pineapple there in addition to their holdings in Ha‘ikū.

- First section of an inter-island undersea cable laid between Maui and Moloka’i.

1894 - Holy Ghost Mission Catholic Church completed at Kula, serving a growing Portu-guese population.

1898 - Makawao Seminary totally destroyed by fire.

1899 - 130 Chinese workers march from Wai-luku to Sprecklesville to demand that hot meals be served in camp.

- Nahiku Rubber Company on Maui is the first rubber plantation on American soil.

1900 - April 30th, the Organic Act is signed by Presi-dent McKinley. This Act incorporates Hawai‘i as a Ter-ritory of the United States.

- Census lists 61,111 Japanese living in Hawai‘i.

- Bubonic plague breaks out in Kahului. The town is burnt to eradicate disease.

1901 - HC&S builds one of the world’s largest sugar mills in Pu‘unene.

- Okinawan & Puerto Rican immigrants begin arriving.

1904 - Korean immigrants arrive.

1905 - Maui County is established by the territorial legislature. Included are the islands of Maui, Lana‘i, Molokini, Kaho‘olawe, and part of Moloka‘i.

- Maunalei Sugar Company store building was left standing when company shut down on Lana‘i in 1901. It is dismantled, rafted to Lāhainā, and reassembled. The two story former store and hotel becomes Pioneer Inn.

- A strike by 1,700 Japanese sugar workers at Pioneer Sugar Company in Lāhainā is broken with assistance from the Japanese consulate and after a violent attack on the strikers by Maui police.

1906 - Pā’ia Mill is built.

1908 - Ikua Purdy wins the world steer-roping cham-pionship at the Cheyenne Frontier Days celebration in Wyoming. Ranching becomes Maui’s third biggest industry after sugar and pineapples.

1909 - Filipino immigrants arrive.

1912 - 1925 - Motor powered sampans (an indigenious craft evolved from a Japanese fishing boat) called the mosquito fleet go into inter island service. The Mazie C. built by students at Maui Vocational School takes cattle, horses, feed, and water to Kaho‘olawe.

1912 - David T. Fleming plants pineapples on his ranch in Honolua.

released and “kapu’d” by Kamehameha I in 1793. Hawaiians pronounce them Paniolos.

- First of four churches built in Wailuku and named for Ka‘ahumanu.

1835 - Mauians living along the southern coast are terrorized by a band of exiles banished to Kaho‘olawe for adultery in another unintended consequence of marriage and literacy laws. They swam to Maui, stole canoes, and raided the shoreline villages.

1836 - Princess Nahi‘ena‘ena has returned to a forbid-den relationship with her brother, King Kamehameha III, (Kauikeaouli) in Lāhainā. She gives birth to their son, who dies within hours. She dies shortly after, a tragic symbol if not a battleground in the struggle between the old ways and the new.

1836 - Centipedes introduced, a stowaway in the cargo of a sailing ship. Inspires Loggins and Messina song 150 years later.

1837 - Mr. & Mrs. Edward Bailey arrive in Hawai‘i with the 8th company of missionaries sent from Boston. They are first assigned to Kohala, but from 1840 to 1848 they teach at the Wailuku Female Seminary. Their contributions to Maui include build-ing a Ka‘ahumanu Church in Wailuku, a mill and sugar plantation, a bridge over the Wailuku Stream, and surveying of native kuleanas (land divisions). He settled land claims, and started and maintained the Manaolu Girl’s School. His sketches became the basis for engravings at Lahainaluna. He taught music, wrote a synopsis on Hawaiian ferns, and composed the narrative poem Hawai‘i Nei, An Idyll.

- Keawe (Algeroba) imported to use as soil retainer in reaction to erosion caused by over-grazing of introduced cattle, sheep, & goats. Trees provided shade and feed for cattle.

1839 - Edict of Toleration passed by King Kame-hameha III, giving religious freedom to the people of Hawaii, much to the chagrin of the Protestant mis-sionaries and Ka‘ahumanu. Early converts to the Ro-man Catholic Faith were brothers Helio and Petero. Helio became known as the Apostle of Maui and preached throughout Maui, converting many. When he died in Wailua between Hāna and Kīpahulu, he

was buried, and a giant concrete cross was erected on the peak above his grave in Wailua Gulch. This monument can be seen from the road to the Na-tional Park at Seven Pools in Kīpahulu. In spite of the Edict of Toleration, the brothers were arrested in Kaupo, tied up with rope, and marched toward Wailuku to be tried for heresy. Along the way, the prisoners and deputies were joined by the families and supporters of the Catholics in such numbers that by the time they reached Wailuku, the judge dismissed the charges; there were too many to be tried. This incident became known as pa‘akaula, the tying with ropes.

1840 - King Kamehameha III signs first Hawaiian Constitution in Lāhainā.

1841 - David Malo named Superintendent of Edu-cation for Maui, Moloka‘i, and Lana‘i. He reports there are 10 schools, 10 teachers and 537 scholars in Lāhainā.

- Best anchorage in Lāhainā is abreast of the King’s flagstaff in front of the palace. So says Lt. Charles Wilkes of the U.S. Exploring Squadron.

1842 - Henry Perrine Baldwin, son of missionaries who came in the 4th company in 1830, is born in Lāhainā.

- First Catholic Mass is held in the home of Joa-quin Armas, a cowboy employed by Kamehameha III. Although opposed by Protestant Missionaries, chiefs, and Queen Regent Ka‘ahumanu, the Catho-lics gradually gain a foothold.

1843 - The king yields to the pleas of the Maui people and returns troublemaking exiled adulterers to their homes. Ka‘ahumanu and Bingham acknowl-edge failure of their dream to create a totally Puritan Christian community.

1845 - Kamehameha III moves capitol from Lāhainā to Honolulu. Honolulu was growing in importance since the discovery and development of a safe deep water harbor. Lāhainā slowly loses its importance.

1846 - Number of visiting whaling ships peaks in Lāhainā Roads at 429. Lāhainā town has a population of

3,000 with 59 wood or stone houses and 882 grass structures. Whalers can procure fresh water, hogs, goats, bananas, melons, pumpkins, onions, squashes, sweet potatoes, young turkeys, ducks, fowl, beef, and best of all - Irish potatoes. There is also “rest and re-laxation” offered by grog shops and brothels, which leads to disagreements between sailors and local officials. Herman Melville arrives in Lahaina aboard whaler Charles and Henry, takes his discharge, and sails for Honolulu. A week later, the Acushnet drops anchor in Lāhainā and reports that Melville deserted in Nukuhiva

- Father Aubert of the Congregation of Mary and Jesus arrives in Lāhainā to establish the first Catho-lic parish on Maui. An adobe church, Maria Lani-kula (Victorious Saint Mary) is built in downtown Lāhainā.

1848 - The Great Mahele. Land ownership is shifted from the control of the High Chiefs and divided into 3 categories: Crown lands for the support of the in-dividual members of the ali‘i, government lands for the support and the running of the Monarchy, and private lands that can be owned, bought, and sold by private individuals.

- Gold is discovered in California. This proves a boon to Maui and Hawai‘i, as the market for pro-duce and goods from islands opens with the rush of the “49ers.”

1850 - Minister of Public Instruction reports that Lahainaluna “has sent out over 400 educated Hawai-ians...They are the leading men of the native popula-tion all over the islands.”

1851 - A dispute arises between Kahului and Ka-lepolepo as freight ports. Kalepolepo (Kihei) was closer to potato farmers in Kula, but Kahului was safer for ships. C. F. Hussey & Co. opens its doors in Kahului to handle merchandise, potatoes, and produce.

- Schooner Maria, Captain Thomas Hobron, be-comes Honolulu - Lahaina packet. She departs Honolulu every Friday at 5 p.m. and Lahaina every Monday at 5 p.m.

1852 - The first Chinese contract laborers arrive

on Maui. There are 175 men, mostly Hakka from Kwang-tung Province. They are paid $3 per day plus passage, room and board for a 5 year contract to sugar planters Athough they are the first contract laborers, they are not the first Chinese in Hawai‘i. The first was marooned with John Young in 1789, and followed by merchants and settlers.

- Steamer Constitution, 600 tons, makes one inter-island run from Honolulu to Lāhainā. Too big for economical operation in Hawai‘i, she returns to San Francisco.

1853 - Steam power is introduced to Hawai-ian sugar industry through Maui plantations. It replaces water and animal power.

1854 - In Lāhainā, Captain Edwards lands a superior variety of sugar cane imported from Ta-hiti. It spreads island-wide but is called “Lāhainā Cane.”

1856 - Captain James Makee and C. Brewer II buy Haili’imaile Plantation and change the name to Brewer Plantation. C. Brewer Co. is now in the sugar business.

1857 - Drought, low prices, and scarce labor causes the closure of plantations until only 5 are left. The demand created by the Civil War will bring recovery. By 1861, there are 11 working plantations.

1859 - Oil discovered in Pennsylvania. Cheap kerosene spells doom for the whaling industry.

- Pirate Bully Hayes is arrested in Kahului for smuggling by Sheriff Treadway, who makes the mistake of going alone to the ship. Hayes casts off and sends the sheriff back empty-handed in his boat.

1860 - 1864 - Civil War in the United States has disastrous effect on whaling. Stone fleet (whale-ships being sunk to close off Confederate ports) and Southern commerce raiders such as the Shenandoah decimate the whaling fleet. Whale

fisheries are pushed further north to the Arctic raising risks, and costs to whalers. But while the war cripples the whaling industry, it is great for sugar. Secession eliminates Southern sugar from Northern markets. Hawaiian sugar finds its niche.

1860 - Pioneer Mill founded in Lāhainā

- Regular Inter-Island Steamship service begins with the arrival of the government-sponsored Kilauea. One-way fares to Maui are as follows: Lāhainā: $6; Ma’alaea: $7; Makena: $8.

- Nettie Merril arrives in Lāhainā to become the Hilo - Lāhainā packet. She is a clipper-built schoo-ner and very fast. The Lāhainā Boat Boys compose a song in her honor. Her first run to Lāhainā takes 12 hours. Cabin passage is $5 one way.

1862 - Wailuku Sugar Company organized by C. Brewer and Company.

1868 - First attempt to import Japanese labor. Japa-nese government does not approve, and only 148 persons of the expected 350 arrive in Hawai’i.

1871 - Thirty-three ships, half of them Hawaiian, are caught in an early freeze in the Arctic whal-ing ground. The crews are rescued, but the cargoes and ships are a total loss. Five hundred Hawaiian whalers return home penniless. But the long-term disaster is that the whalers’ money peters out. The economic prosperity brought by whaling is gone.

1873 - The Banyan Tree, the old-est in the state of Hawaii, comes from India. At the time of plant-ing in Lāhainā, it is only eight feet tall.

1876 - H. P. Baldwin crushes his arm up to his elbow while demonstrating uneven rollers in mill machinery.

- Present Ka‘ahumanu Church built. It is fourth incarnation since first built in 1832

1876 - Claus Spreckles arrives and buys up most of Hawaiian sugar crop just before Reciprocity Treaty with the United States allows Hawaiian Sugar to be imported without the tariff on foreign goods. He

made enough that the newspapers call him the “Sugar King” or Ona Miliona (the millionaire).

1877 - Newly acquired steamer Likelike makes inaugural voyage to Lāhainā carrying Queen Kapi-olani, Princess Ruth Ke‘elikolani, with 86 cabin and 250 deck passengers.

- Hamakua-Ha’iku waterworks opens.

1878 - One of Maui’s great engineering projects is completed when H. P. Baldwin and Samuel Thomas Alexander open the Ha-makua Ditch. Water flows through the ditch to the dry Central Val-ley from rainy East Maui. The 17 miles of ditch through jungles and ravines have to be completed within 2 years ac-cording to the contract with the Hawaiian Gov-ernment, who owns the land and water rights.

- Charles H. Dickey installes Hawai‘i’s first two telephones between his home and his store in Ha’iku. The phones were rented from a Mainland firm and run on wet cell batteries.

- Claus Spreckles buys into the Waihe’e Plantation, creates Hawaiian Commercial and Sugar Co. (HC&S) and digs his own ditch to bring water from East Maui. It crosses thirty gulches and twenty-eight 3x8 tunnels up to 500 feet long, carved through solid rock. Using 21,000 feet of pipe, Spreckles’ ditch carries 60 cubic feet of water over thirty miles. The cost is $500,000.

- Portuguese workers are recruited from the Azores and Madeira Islands. Between 1878 and 1887, 17,500 immigrants are brought to work on Hawai‘i’s plantations. They are considered a desirable supplement to the Chinese laborers and also to rebuild the declining Hawaiian population. They bring wives and children along.

1879 - Maui’s first narrow gauge railroad, built by Thomas Hobron, begins running between Kahului Landing and Wailuku.