History of Sugar Plantations in Hawaii
1866, Mark Twain visited Hawaii, which was still known as the Sandwich Islands. He marveled at the sugar production capabilities of the rich soil and he exulted at finding "'a land which produces 6, 8, 10, 12, yea, even 13,000 pounds of sugar to the acre on unmanured soil!''. He further commented "of all the wonders I have seen in the islands, in its importance to America, this surpasses them all.''
Thinking of Owning Property on Kauai?
No where else in the State of Hawaii is property with such historical significance of the Hawaiian sugar plantation area except Kauai--because it all started here. Beginning in 1835 before Hawaii was a State, the first sugar planatation began and sugar would become the largest industry in the State of Hawaii!
Here's our brief story of the beginnings of the Hawaiian Sugar Plantations--it all began in the spring of 1835 in a little place called Koloa (Ko= sugar, and loa=long).
The First Commercial Sugar Plantation in Hawaii The Koloa Sugar Plantation 1835-1966
The richness of the soil, proximity to a sea port and closeness to the potential power producing Maulili waterfall were the thoughts on the minds of the three young men of the newly formed Ladd and Company.
At twenty four, William Hooper, one of the three partners, was assigned the task of establishing and management of the new plantation on the land leased from King Kamehameha III. His first task would be building his residence, a grass hut and planting a food garden in this land described as “a mere hamlet, seldom visited even by a missionary”.*
It began in the early morning of the spring of 1835 with the sound of the earth crust breaking as the first sugar cane stalks pierced the ground on the leased parcel. They were planting “long sugar” both the red and yellow stalks. In Hawaiian “long sugar” is translated into the word “Koloa”. They knew that sugar was a thirsty crop requiring almost 2000 pounds of water to produce one pound of sugar. They were hoping that the moisture laden trade winds crossing the Hawaiian Kingdom would be conducive to the success of their sugar crop.
Sugar cane was not new to Hawaii as Captain Cook had observed the sweet stalks of wild cane being chewed by the islanders when he landed here in 1778--possibly brought to the islands by Polynesians centuries earlier. But this would be the first attempt in Hawaii to created and cultivate sugar as an agriculture crop with commercial value.
Working through the many difficult challenges, Mr. Hooper’s undaunted perseverance and dedication proved this vision was possible. In 1837 the plantation had successfully exported 2 tons of sugar with a value of $200 and the Koloa Sugar Plantation became the first commercially successful sugar plantation in the Kingdom of Hawaii. With many new mill improvements implemented by Dr. Robert Wood during his years of ownership, and the astonishing engineering feats accomplished by the early German engineers, by 1898 the Koloa Sugar Plantation was producing 225,000 tons a year.
As this small plantation began to prosper, other businessmen saw the value of sugar cane as an exportable, income producing crop for the Kingdom and it would eventually become the largest industry in Hawaii.
During the 1800’s, faced with poor economic conditions in their homelands, workers came to Hawaii from faraway places including Portugal, Puerto Rico, China, Japan, Korea and the Philippines. Soon many of these new immigrants were settled closely together at the Koloa Sugar Plantation where they preserved and yet mingled and shared their cultures.
These workers were focused on their families and communities and brought to Hawaii traditions, foods and customs of their homelands. No other place on the planet saw this diversity of cultures mixing, sharing and building one strong community such as was happening in this place we call Hawaii. These plantation workers provided this peaceful sense of “place” where diverse cultures could co-exist and carry on the tradition of Aloha, that was and is, the nature of Hawaiians. This sharing of cultures resulted in what makes Kauai such a truly special place today.
In 1912, to accommodate the demand for sugar, the old mill was replaced with the new one that stands on the property today. The ownership of the Koloa Sugar Plantation would change hands many times over the years. By 1920 the Koloa Plantation was solely owned by Alexander & Baldwin and in 1948 would merge with Grove Farm and continue to produce top quality Hawaiian long sugar. The plantation lands and mill would later be leased to McBryde Plantation, the last remaining sugar production company on Kauai.
The whistle blew signaling the start of another work day on that September morning in 1996. It would be the end of those early morning whistles as the last harvested crop was processed. As the day came to a close, the grinding wheels stopped--marking the end of the Koloa Mill and the sugar plantation.
From the modest beginnings in 1835 to providing livelihoods to eight generations of families that worked at the Koloa Sugar plantation during the 161 years of operation, the Koloa Sugar Mill plantation symbolizes the long legacy and history of this unique property found nowhere else in Hawaii.
Hawaiian’s use the word “aina” to describe the land and you will see the use of the phrase--“Respect the Aina. Live Pono”… (Respect your Land and Home. Live with Honesty).
May all those that come to make Kauai their home understand and feel the legacy of this land and what it has meant to so many people—and now offering the new owners that “sense of coming home”.
Footnotes: In 1962 the Original Sugar Mill was named a National Historic Landmark. And in 2000 Grove farm sold the property to Steve Case (founder of AOL and native of Hawaii) whose grandfather A. Hebard Case had worked on the plantation.
*Narrative gathered from information provided by the Grove Farm Museum, The Kauai Historical Society and the work of Arthur C. Alexander in his book “Koloa Plantation 1835-1935” written in honor of the plantation’s 100th year anniversary.
Prepared by Lucy Adams, R(S) of Coldwell Banker Makai Properties
Ilona Coffey, R(B) 808-635-1495 lona@KauaiAgent.com
Lucille Adams, R(S) 808-651-5676 Lucy@KauaiAgent.com
No where else in the State of Hawaii is property with such historical significance of the Hawaiian sugar plantation area except Kauai--because it all started here. Beginning in 1835 before Hawaii was a State, the first sugar planatation began and sugar would become the largest industry in the State of Hawaii!
Here's our brief story of the beginnings of the Hawaiian Sugar Plantations--it all began in the spring of 1835 in a little place called Koloa (Ko= sugar, and loa=long).
The First Commercial Sugar Plantation in Hawaii The Koloa Sugar Plantation 1835-1966
The richness of the soil, proximity to a sea port and closeness to the potential power producing Maulili waterfall were the thoughts on the minds of the three young men of the newly formed Ladd and Company.
At twenty four, William Hooper, one of the three partners, was assigned the task of establishing and management of the new plantation on the land leased from King Kamehameha III. His first task would be building his residence, a grass hut and planting a food garden in this land described as “a mere hamlet, seldom visited even by a missionary”.*
It began in the early morning of the spring of 1835 with the sound of the earth crust breaking as the first sugar cane stalks pierced the ground on the leased parcel. They were planting “long sugar” both the red and yellow stalks. In Hawaiian “long sugar” is translated into the word “Koloa”. They knew that sugar was a thirsty crop requiring almost 2000 pounds of water to produce one pound of sugar. They were hoping that the moisture laden trade winds crossing the Hawaiian Kingdom would be conducive to the success of their sugar crop.
Sugar cane was not new to Hawaii as Captain Cook had observed the sweet stalks of wild cane being chewed by the islanders when he landed here in 1778--possibly brought to the islands by Polynesians centuries earlier. But this would be the first attempt in Hawaii to created and cultivate sugar as an agriculture crop with commercial value.
Working through the many difficult challenges, Mr. Hooper’s undaunted perseverance and dedication proved this vision was possible. In 1837 the plantation had successfully exported 2 tons of sugar with a value of $200 and the Koloa Sugar Plantation became the first commercially successful sugar plantation in the Kingdom of Hawaii. With many new mill improvements implemented by Dr. Robert Wood during his years of ownership, and the astonishing engineering feats accomplished by the early German engineers, by 1898 the Koloa Sugar Plantation was producing 225,000 tons a year.
As this small plantation began to prosper, other businessmen saw the value of sugar cane as an exportable, income producing crop for the Kingdom and it would eventually become the largest industry in Hawaii.
During the 1800’s, faced with poor economic conditions in their homelands, workers came to Hawaii from faraway places including Portugal, Puerto Rico, China, Japan, Korea and the Philippines. Soon many of these new immigrants were settled closely together at the Koloa Sugar Plantation where they preserved and yet mingled and shared their cultures.
These workers were focused on their families and communities and brought to Hawaii traditions, foods and customs of their homelands. No other place on the planet saw this diversity of cultures mixing, sharing and building one strong community such as was happening in this place we call Hawaii. These plantation workers provided this peaceful sense of “place” where diverse cultures could co-exist and carry on the tradition of Aloha, that was and is, the nature of Hawaiians. This sharing of cultures resulted in what makes Kauai such a truly special place today.
In 1912, to accommodate the demand for sugar, the old mill was replaced with the new one that stands on the property today. The ownership of the Koloa Sugar Plantation would change hands many times over the years. By 1920 the Koloa Plantation was solely owned by Alexander & Baldwin and in 1948 would merge with Grove Farm and continue to produce top quality Hawaiian long sugar. The plantation lands and mill would later be leased to McBryde Plantation, the last remaining sugar production company on Kauai.
The whistle blew signaling the start of another work day on that September morning in 1996. It would be the end of those early morning whistles as the last harvested crop was processed. As the day came to a close, the grinding wheels stopped--marking the end of the Koloa Mill and the sugar plantation.
From the modest beginnings in 1835 to providing livelihoods to eight generations of families that worked at the Koloa Sugar plantation during the 161 years of operation, the Koloa Sugar Mill plantation symbolizes the long legacy and history of this unique property found nowhere else in Hawaii.
Hawaiian’s use the word “aina” to describe the land and you will see the use of the phrase--“Respect the Aina. Live Pono”… (Respect your Land and Home. Live with Honesty).
May all those that come to make Kauai their home understand and feel the legacy of this land and what it has meant to so many people—and now offering the new owners that “sense of coming home”.
Footnotes: In 1962 the Original Sugar Mill was named a National Historic Landmark. And in 2000 Grove farm sold the property to Steve Case (founder of AOL and native of Hawaii) whose grandfather A. Hebard Case had worked on the plantation.
*Narrative gathered from information provided by the Grove Farm Museum, The Kauai Historical Society and the work of Arthur C. Alexander in his book “Koloa Plantation 1835-1935” written in honor of the plantation’s 100th year anniversary.
Prepared by Lucy Adams, R(S) of Coldwell Banker Makai Properties
Ilona Coffey, R(B) 808-635-1495 lona@KauaiAgent.com
Lucille Adams, R(S) 808-651-5676 Lucy@KauaiAgent.com