History of Property Sales in Pahala, Hawaii

A.D. 300

• The property history of Pahala begins in 300 A.D. when the first settlers arrived from Polynesia. The second round of settlers arrived in 1200, conquering the first settlers. Captain James Cook arrived in 1779.

1800s

• In 1848, King Kamehameha III began to allow foreigners to purchase land that had been the exclusive property of Hawaiians. This event was called The Great Mahele. Foreign businessmen bought land to ranch, produce sugar cane and other plants, such as macadamia nuts. Macadamia nuts are still a principle industry in the area.

The Mid-1800s

• In 1860, King Kamehameha III leased the property for Kapapala Ranch to two businessmen. It is still ranch land today. In 1866, Theophilus Brown bought the Kahunku Ranch and became a rancher. Formerly, he had been the captain of a whaling ship. In 1868, the first commercial sugar company was established in Pahala. Pahala Plantation was almost 20,000 acres. Today, cottages for tourists stand in place of fields of sugar cane.

The Late 1800s

• In 1877, Volcano House was built. Once an unfurnished grass hut, then converted to a center for tourists to view the volcanic activity nearby, it was later inhabited by photographers who eventually were successful in getting the property registered as Hawaii's oldest visitor center with the National Register of Historic Places.

Recent History

• Congress established the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park in 1915. It is 505 acres, and also has been designated as an International Biosphere Reserve and a World Heritage Site. In 1959, Hawaii became the 50th state of the United States of America. Prior to becoming a state, Hawaii was independent of outside rule. It was called the Kingdom of Hawaii. It was annexed as a U.S. territory in 1898. In 2003, Hawaii National Park and the Nature Conservatory bought 116,000 acres known as the Kahuku Ranch. The total purchase price was $22 million.