Site History

 “In ancient days this huge ahupua`a (Hawaiian land division), stretching between the Wai`anae and Ko`olau mountain range, was called Lihu`e. It is rich in Hawaiian legend and fact, as it is one of the oldest places on O`ahu. Before King Kamehameha I united the islands, it was here that the O`ahu chiefs trained their armies (the site of Schofield Barracks now) and revered the place of royal births of Kukaniloko (birthing stones site). They liked the cool climate, the lush growth of the mountains, the abundance of wild game, and the many birds from which they plucked feathers to make capes for royalty. Later this land was called the Leilehua Plateau and today it is known as the Wahiawā District.

Through the enactment of the Land Act of 1895, the land of Wahiawā was withdrawn from cattle grazing leases and offered for sale to farmers interested in diversified farming. Bryon O. Clark and government officials visited this 1,350 acres tract of land designated for homesteading on January 1, 1898.

Clark wrote to friends in California, encouraging them to apply for one of the allotments for homesteading. Twelve applied and by the spring of 1899, the last of the colonists were settled on their land for the required three years.

These colonists came with high hopes, skills, courage, and determination to build for themselves a new life. They carved a place to live on this barren, undeveloped land covered with shrub brush where untamed cattle once roamed. But, through trial and error, the homesteaders prevailed.

To reach Wahiawa, the homesteaders forded the north and south forks of Kaukonahua Stream which surrounds Wahiawā, making it an island within an island. Life was hard but they cleared the land and planted their required fruit trees and crops. They built a one-lane bridge, constructed homes, laid out roads, obtained water rights, built a store and post office, and saw to it their children were educated. In a very short time, the homesteaders had a community and started the pineapple industry.

Clark found some discarded pineapple slips which he shared with Alfred W. Eames and in 1900 they harvested their first crop in the community. Clark experimented in his home kitchen to can the fruit in glass jars. Eames founded the Hawaiian Island Packing Company and built his first cannery in the Wahiawā heights area in 1902. This company was later known as Del Monte Fresh Produce (Hawaii) Inc. Another homesteader and planter, Will P. Thomas, operated under the Thomas Pineapple Company, which in 1917 following his death, became Libby McNeill & Libby of Honolulu.

In July of 1900, James Drummond Dole was high bidder of a government auction for the 61 acres of land that was given up by one of the original homesteaders. He built a cannery next to his pineapple fields in Wahiawā and packed his first cans in 1903. Today his Hawaiian Pineapple Company (HAPCO) is known as Dole Food Company, Hawaii. By 1904, Wahiawā was known as "The City of Pines" and was considered the "hub" of the pineapple industry in the world.

Wahiawā Town's multi-ethnic make-up, over its formative years, closely follows that of the plantation contract laborers coming to the islands to work in the pineapple fields. Plantation life was hard and many contract workers left the plantation once their contracts expired. Some of them or their children started businesses in Wahiawā. The community continued to grow, a town developed, and a new district initiated.

In 1913, a new district was created which the ahupua`a bordered by the Wai`anae and Ko`olau mountain ranges, and the land was taken from Waialua and Ewa districts to form this new and seventh district of Wahiawā."

Written by Elizabeth R. Smithe, from the files of the Wahiawā Community & Business Association https://www.wahiawahistoricalsoc.com/brief.html, 7/29/20.

For more information about the history of Wahiawā, visit the Wahiawā Historical Society website here.

Planning Documents & Previous Site Studies

Central O'ahu Sustainable Communities Plan

Wahiawā Urban Design Plan, 1998

TMK Map

CDS International-Zoning Code Analysis, Sept. 2010

CDS-Site Analysis

CDS-Tree Preservation Scheme

BZP Wahiawa Calif. Ave Quick Build

"Toward the end of the 19th century, western entrepreneurial, agricultural, and military interests began to focus on Wahiawā. Additionally, residential tracts were also simultaneously being built in the immediate vicinity of the project area.

Based on historic overviews, it is very evident that majority of the activities indicated within the immediate project area began to transform during the early 1900s. However, many of these historic structures were long gone by the late 1940s and early 1960s in order to accommodate new urban developments.

Germane to the project area is the historic presence of the old Wahiawā Hotel, located at the corner of Lehua Street and California Avenue. In subsequent years, the hotel, which was used primarily as housing facilities for nearby school teachers, would soon be demolished in the 1960s for the construction of the new Wahiawā Library. The library, located at the southwestern corner of the project area, at the intersection of Lehua Street and California Avenue, continues to remain in operation today.

The site of the former Wahiawā Elementary School, which is now Wahiawā General Hospital, is also of importance to the project area. During World War II, Wahiawā Elementary School would transform into a hospital facility for the war injured and remains in operation today."

- An Archaeological and Cultural Impact Evaluation for the Proposed Wahiawā Community Transit Center, Wahiawā Ahupua'a, Wahiawā District, Island of O'ahu by Hallet H. Hammatt, PhD, David W.Shideler, MA, and Melanie M. Mann, BA Prepared for AM Partners, Inc, May 2002