Government
Records- A Chronological History
The following documentation
provides readers with detailed records from government
communications pertaining to Kea'au and vicinity and the
historic Puna Trail (Old Government Road) from 1848 to 1933.
The information is generally presented in chronological
order, and communications translated by Maly are noted.
(Italics emphasis is this author's - noting particular
sections of text.) 1848 School Report (Puna
Section) Public Instruction
Files: By 1848, surveys of schools,
including names of teachers, numbers of students and various
limited comments regarding the quality of instruction began
being forwarded to the Hawaiian Government. The information
below, identifies school locations and gives us the names of
teachers who were living at Kea'au and
vicinity. Teacher Daily Salary Number of
Students Location of School Maiau 12 ½ cents 18
Makuu Kaholo 12 ½ cents 36 Keaau
1 Ihauae 12 ½ cents 45 Keaau
2 Kau & Ihauae 25 cents 34
Olaa 1 Kaanaana 18 ¾ cents 24 Olaa
2 Studies included subjects such
as - reading, arithmetic, geography, penmanship, philosophy,
science, and religion. (Series 262 - Hawaii Island; Folder
of 1848) August 30,
1853 School Lot at Keaau 1. Puna
Hawaii: This lot begins at the shoreward
corner, at a cut off coconut tree stump, proceeding South 15
½º West 3.00 chains, then South 79º East 6.00
chains, then North 15 ½º East 3.00 chains, then
North 79 º West 6.00 chains, back to the place of
commencement. 1.80 Acres Approved Aug. 30th
1853. August 30,
1850 School and Church Lot at
Keaau 2. Puna Hawaii: This lot begins at a large stone
on the shore, the northern corner of the lot, and proceeds
South 56 ¾º West, 3.86 chains to a coconut tree
stump, then proceeding along the Government Road (Alanui
Aupuni) South 22 ¾º East 10.2 chains, then
North 75 ½º East 4.00 chains to the shore, then
proceeding along the shore to the place of
commencement. 4.20 Acres Approved Aug. 30th
1853. Overview of Road Laws and
Development in the Kingdom of Hawai'i
(1840 to 1857): Roads are the most accurate
tests of the degree of civilization in every country. Their
construction is one of the first indications of the
emergence of a people from a savage state, and their
improvement keeps pace with the advance of a nation in
wealth and science. They are the veins and arteries through
which flow the agricultural productions and commercial
supplies, which are essential to the prosperity of the
state. Agriculture is in a great measure dependent upon good
roads for its success and rewards. The history of road making in
this kingdom does not date far back. The first law that we
find recorded was enacted in 1840, which as well as the laws
of 1846 and 1850 gave to the Governors a general control of
the roads, with power to make new roads and employ prisoners
in their construction. But no system of road making has ever
been introduced, and the whole subject has been left to be
executed as chance dictated. In 1852 road supervisors were
made elective by the people, at the annual election in
January. This change worked no improvement in the roads, as
the road supervisors, in order to remain popular, required
the least possible amount of labor, and in many districts an
hour or two of work in the morning was considered as a
compliance with the road law. Under this law the road
supervisors were pretty much to themselves, and though
accountable to the Minister of the Interior, they considered
favor of their constituents of more importance. This law was
found productive of more evil than good, and during the last
session of the legislature a new road law was passed, which
goes in to force on the 1st of January 1857. This new law
gives to the Minister of the Interior the appointment of
road supervisors throughout the Kingdom, who are subject to
such general instructions (we suppose in regard to the
construction of roads) as he may issue& (The Pacific
Commercial Advertiser, September 25, 1856) April 6,
1858 L. Kaina, Road Supervisor for
the District of Puna to Lot Kamehameha, Minister
of Interior. &You asked me for the
remaining money of the Puna Road Tax to be forwarded to you.
There is no money remaining. I was asked for the remainder
of the money for the years 1858 and 1859. In my thoughts
there is no money that was received for these years; because
no people paid the money. They worked instead. I was also
asked how much money would be needed to make the roads good
again in these years. Here along the pahoehoe flats of
Hopoe, $300.00. There are no people there. The work can
be done on the pahoehoe of Panau and Kealakomo for
$300.00. Totaling more than five miles. These are the things
needed to improve the road, hammers, crowbars and chisels.
(Subject File - Roads Hawaii; translated by
Maly) Chas. Gulick, School
Inspector; to Department of Public Instruction
"1865 - Report on Hawaii;
Inspector Gulick's Report" &I left Hilo on the 16th of
August and proceeded into the district of Puna and on my way
visited the following schools. Keaau. A thatched
stone hovel, a la East Maui, standing on private grounds,
while the school lot lies unoccupied close by, below the
road, except by an equally distant building, called by
courtesy a church. 16 scholars attended the examination;
their reading and writing was very good, arithmetic and
geography passable. Thence to Makuu, another
stone hovel standing on the original lot. This school I did
not examine, it being out when I arrived& (Series 262 -
Folder Hawaii - 1865:23-24) August 26,
1868 L. Kaina (at Kilauea Lua o
Pele), Road Supervisor, Puna; to F.W. Hutchinson, Minister of
the Interior: &I am your humble servant,
L. Kaina, Road Supervisor of Puna. I have heard that some of
the people of Puna have petitioned you to terminate my
position as road supervisor& While I am not living in
the Puna District, I can easily travel around the district
and inspect the roads (alanui), and at the time that
road work is being done, I travel to inspect the
work. The reason for their claim
against me, is that they desire the work themselves, because
they lack work and funds, and they desire the government
work& Here is one trouble with the
road at Kalapana and Kaimu, I have met with the people there
and request that a road be opened in another location. The
tidal wave (kai hoee) was the source of this trouble.
I know that an appropriation of $1,000.00 was given to
the District of Puna. You have received my vouchers, and
there are $200.00 left in my hand. Perhaps some of that
money can be used on this problem, to clean up the road at
Kalapana and Kaimu, and some to be given to repair of a bad
place on the shore of Panaewa. The problems in upland
Panaewa have been taken care of& (Subject File -
Roads Hawaii; translated by Maly) Aug. 29th,
1868 R.A. Lyman, Lieut. Governor
of Hawai'i; to F.W. Hutchinson, Minister of
the Interior: &I would say that Hilo
receives a little over $2000.00 a year in cash for the road
tax, and the District has 13 good sized bridges out of town
to keep in order, and a number of small ones. Two of these
have been rebuilt this year, and two more have got to be
rebuilt within three months. The district has not got
money enough to build this bridge. Hilo can get along with
it, but Puna, the poorest district on the island can not
well do without it. As it is on the main road to Puna, and
you can not ford the stream. And you can [not] go
around it without traveling through a swamp and through the
bushes for two miles. The produce of Puna comes across this
stream, and they feel the want of the bridge very much, on
coming in with loaded animals having to walk around for over
three miles instead of coming on to good roads on the beach.
A bridge 90 feet long is needed and a road way from the
beach to the bridge of about 20 feet in length&
(Subject File - Roads Hawaii) July 16,
1869 S.B. Puamana (Kaimu, Puna );
to the Minster of the Interior
(F.W. Hutchinson): At the instruction of L. Kaina,
"Go and survey the mileage of the road work which remains to
be done by J.W. Kumahoa, Road Supervisor of Puna." Therefore
I conducted the survey it all as instructed, there are
five miles. I inspected and understand the extent of the
work at mile markers (kia mile) 1 and mile 5, those are the
miles of the greatest and most difficult work. I think,
based on my understanding, that it is right to pay for those
miles, $200.00, and for the three miles between, to pay
$400.00. This is what I think& (Subject File - Roads
Hawaii; translated by Maly) July 16,
1869 L. Kaina, Puna Road
Supervisor; to Minister of the Interior
(F.W. Hutchinson): &S.B. Puamana went and
surveyed and inspected the Government Road at place thought
to need work and funding. He began the survey and inspection
from the place called Waikahekahe and continued to Haena at
Keaau, five miles. The nature of these miles is not the
same. Inspection shows that in the first mile, the work will
be difficult, and payment of two hundred dollars is right.
The second mile at $140.00, the third mile at $130.00, the
fourth mile at $130.00, and the fifth mile at $200.00. The
combined total is $800.00. Here are the provisions needed
by those who work on the road - 12 crowbars, 12 pickaxes, 12
shovels, 12 hammers, 12 (koi kimo) broad adzes, 12
(kila pao) steel chisels, and 12 (koi lipi)
long adzes& I have often seen this place,
and it is justifiable to do road work there. The road will
be changed at certain places, that is near the shore of
Hopoe, and Aalama[nu], because the waves cover the
road&. When the work is to begin, I will go directly
there to supervise the work&. (Subject File - Roads
Hawaii; translated by Maly) February 2,
1870 L. Kaina (at Kilauea), Puna
Road Supervisor; to F.W. Hutchinson, Minister of
the Interior: &Because Mr. Jones has
spoken to me about the Road of Puna, which you want me to
make, there for I am writing to you. The first mile, that is the
place where the Road Supervisor worked up to, from there the
work will begin, and it is the most difficult mile. If I
take twenty men to work there, the work may not be completed
in one month, with the work to be done as I think right.
Based on my inspection, to undertake that mile, it would
cost - 20 men 8 dollars for the month
$160.00 Their poi 40.00 Their fish 20.00 Their shelter and such
10.00 $230.00 Therefore I need to ask for
three hundred dollars for that difficult mile. And for the
two miles in between, it is appropriate for me to ask for
two hundred dollars because it is not too difficult, and for
the two miles remaining, it is right for me to be paid three
hundred dollars, because the work is similar to that of the
first mile. If I begin the work, I will do
so and make the road good& (Subject File - Roads Hawaii;
translated by Maly) February 22nd,
1871 R.A. Lyman, Lieut. Governor
of Hawai'i; to F.W. Hutchinson, Minister of
the Interior: &J.W. Kumahoa Road
Supervisor of Puna has made a contract with 10 men to make 2
miles of the road in the woods between here and Keau
[Kea'au] in Puna. The two miles they propose to make
are very nearly impassable now, as the road is so full of
sharp stones. He wishes to take 10 crowbars,
10 shovels, and 10 stone hammers from the tools that Mr.
Kaina had when he was at work on the Puna road. I have
directed him to take these tools as soon as they are ready
to use them& (Subject File - Roads, Island of
Hawaii) May 17th,
1871 R.A. Lyman, Lieut. Governor
of Hawai'i; to F.W. Hutchinson, Minister of
the Interior: &I have this day made a
contract with the natives to make another mile of the Puna
Road, and have drawn on you in favor of F.S. Lyman for
one hundred 00/100 ($100.) dollars amt. to be paid in
advance to the men. The other $100.00 is to be paid to them
when the mile is accepted. They are to have $200. for the
mile& (Subject File - Roads Hawaii) June 1st,
1871 J.W. Kumahoa (at Panaewa)
Puna Road Board; to F.W. Hutchinson, Minister
of the Interior: &I explain to you that I
was hired to make two miles (of road) at four hundred
dollars - $400.00, two hundred dollars for each mile. Those
are the miles in Panaewa, near Hilo. There remains to be
made three and a half miles from Keaau and reaching the road
of L. Kaina at Hopoe. There is a great amount of work to be
done to open this road, it is a very treacherous place.
The laborers think that these miles will cost one thousand
two hundred dollars - $1,200. Four hundred for the first
mile, four hundred for the second mile, two hundred for the
third mile, and two hundred for the half mile& (Subject
File - Roads Hawaii; translated by Maly) September 1,
1873 O.B. Spencer to J.O. Dominis
& R.A. Lyman Assignment of Lease &
Bill of Sale (Keaau, Puna) O.B. Spencer assigns lease and
sells personal property to J.O. Dominis and R.A. Lyman,
including the following properties: The lease of the land known as
Keaau in the District of Puna, Island of Hawaii and all
other leases of land held by me in the District of Puna
aforesaid together with all buildings and improvements to me
belonging upon the said lands, and also all my flock of
cattle running on the land of Keaau aforesaid and on the
adjoining lands branded "OS" or " " or " " together with my
brand "OS" and also all of my flock of goats and sheep
running on the land of Keaau aforesaid and the adjoining
lands and also my fowls and hogs on the lands aforesaid. And
also the following horses [names 10 horses; also lists
two foals, four mules, seven donkeys] &Also a lot of
lumber and shingles, a table and potatoes growing&
(Bureau of Conveyances; Lib. 37:488-489) 1873 Petition signed by
approximately 60 native residents of Puna;
to to E.O. Hall, Minister of the
Interior: In support of J.W. Kumahoa.
Petitioners provide the following chronology of work
accomplished in Puna, under J.W. Kumahoa - I. In the year 1870 Kumahoa
opened the road at Kauaea. Following trouble from the seas
and because there were no people the road was not rightly
repaired. In this year, 1873, the road was reopened. We have
seen this road, it is good and a blessing to
us. II. He made the road at
Makuu. It was a very treacherous place before, but through
his work is good to this time. III. In the year 1870, he was
hired to make the road from Kumu to Haena, three miles
[for] $400.00, it is a good road and the Government
was gotten through because of his work. IV. In the year 1871, he took
the men out and worked on five miles in a very bad place in
the road made by L. Kaina at Waikahekahe. That is the road
made for $700.00, three miles. At this treacherous place, he
was accused. We disagree, the Government is not at a loss
because of him. V. In the year 1872, he again
took men out on the five miles to work on the treacherous
places of the Road made by S. Kipi at Haena, a distance of
one and three-quarters miles for $900.00. Therefore we humbly ask you not
to terminate the Good Road Supervisor of this District&
(Subject File - Roads, Island of Hawaii; translated by
Maly) January 1,
1874 J. Kapaakaula, Road
Supervisor, Puna; to E.O. Hall, Minister of the
Interior: &I, your servant am pleased
to inform your about things in the things that you have
placed me in charge of, in the District of Puna,
Hawaii. The Government Roads of this
District; are laid out straight (pololei) and graded
(iliwai), with gradual rises. I have faith that most
of the repairs can be made by the people of this District.
The Road Supervisors remain diligent& The only small
problems are in the places that are set far off, places
where the natives are very attached to; these are the places
where there is a need for money to help in this
District. There are areas of
pahoehoe, some that are rocky (makaili),
others with light soil, the blessing of the roads in this
District is that it is somewhat barren. The places with a
lot of soil are the places which become very boggy in this
District& So by this you are informed of the bad places
and the good places in this District& (Subject File -
Roads Hawaii; translated by Maly) August 18,
1874 Queen Dowager Emma
Kaleleokalani; to J.O. Dominis and R.A.
Lyman Indenture of Lease
(Waikahekaheike, Puna): &The Ahupuaa of
Waikahekaheike, according to its ancient boundaries with all
the rights, easements, and appurtenances&for the term of
Ten years to commence from the first day of July 1874&
(Bureau of Conveyances Liber 40:230-232) On September 21st, 1874; R.A.
Lyman and J.O. Dominis consolidated their leases and cattle
branded "OS" under an Assignment of Lease to R.A. Lyman,
J.O. Dominis, and C.R. Bishop (Liber
40:265-267). September 14,
1874 Charles Kanaina (heir of King
Wm. Lunalilo) to R. A. Lyman Indenture of Lease (land of
Keaau, Puna): &All the land of the
ahupuaa in the District of Puna, Island of Hawaii,
called "Keaau", according to its ancient boundaries,
including its konohiki rights to the fishery&for
the period of twenty-five years, beginning the first day of
October 1874& The party of the second part agrees to
repair the walls (pa aina) as required by the Law,
that have been built on this land& Furthermore, here are
several things agreed to by the two parties - the pandanus
trees (kumu puhala), guava (kuawa), and
amaumau (ferns) growing in this ahupuaa may be
cut; but the other trees may not be cut for sale. The trees
of different varieties may not be cut and sold to others, or
taken out of this land. Furthermore, such trees shall not be
cut or otherwise damaged, the coconut trees (niu),
breadfruit trees (ulu), and trees of any variety that
have been planted, also retained outside of this lease are
the property rights of the tenants approved by the Land
Commissioners& (Bureau of Conveyances Liber 40:240-242;
translated by Maly) September 22,
1874 W.L. Green, Minister of the
Interior to R.A. Lyman Indenture of Lease (various
lands in Puna): &All those tracts or parcels
of land situated in the district of Puna Island of Hawaii
known as Makuu, Halona, Keonepokoiki, Kaohe and Popoki for
the term of Ten (10) years from the first day of January
A.D. 1874&Said party of the second part hereby further
agrees that he will not&cut, nor allow to be cut, any
timber or fire wood from any portion of these lands for
sale; and that here not gather nor allow to be gathered,
Pulu from these lands or any part thereof&
(Bureau of Conveyances Liber 40:250-251) January 21,
1875 Hawaiian Government Survey
Files John. M. Lydgate to W.D.
Alexander: Proposing to conduct work for
the Government, including the survey of the District of Puna
and the Puna Government Road. His application to undertake
the work as approved, and Register Map 583 was prepared as a
result of the survey work: &I have a conditional
proposition to make you as superintendent of the Gov't.
Survey. I rather expect to leave the
Islands for the States in a short time - probably inside of
a month, and the condition and proposition is that if I
should have time to do the amount of work necessary, I
should like to furnish the Gov't. Survey for the Sum of
$100.00; 1st the coast line of that part of the Island lying
between the town of Hilo and the land of Keaiwa in Kau. Some
65 or 70 miles I should say. Of course I can't afford to
give it with the accuracy that I know is required in the
final Gov't. Survey work. It will be the nice miniature that
are wanting, not the outline however. 2nd I will give the two Gov't.
Roads; the one from Hilo direct to the Volcano and the other
round by the shore. These will be given from actual survey.
Also the roads from the Volcano to Kapapala and Keauhou
indicated pretty correctly. 3rd The main topographical
features - hills, craters, &c.,; and the general nature
of the country-whether wooded or not, recent lava flows
&c; of the regions above named, extending from Hilo to
Keaiwa& I think you will see at one that
these results represent a large amount of work, as indeed
they do, and were it not that I have already data from which
a considerable part of it can be derived I could not think
of doing it for that sum& I will also indicate as far
as I am able what I consider the best plan of triangulation
for that part of the Island, and will mile the Puna Road if
the Minister of the Interior will pay the expense of putting
up marks - not over $4 or $5 I should say& (DAGS 6 -
Hawaiian Government Survey Files) April 28th,
1877 H.R. Hitchcock, Inspector
General of Schools; to C.R. Bishop, President of the
Board of Education: Hitchcock reports on his
findings of an inspection of the schools in the districts of
Puna and Ka'ü-recording the diminishing enrollment of
the schools at Keauhou, in Kea'au and Maku'u, and also
described the difficulty the students had in keeping animals
out of their cultivated fields; the produce being used to
support the school operations. Importantly, Hitchcock
provides readers with insight into the nature of walled lots
for which no gate-way exists: &The schools in Puna, have,
some of them, deteriorated slightly from their former good
standing, owing to the resignation of some of the best
teachers. Raw recruits have taken their place, and have not
yet become accustomed to teaching& The schools at
Keauhou and Makuu are both very small, and as they are
within three miles of each other, I have told the school
agent to unite the two under one teacher, who shall teach
two or more hours at each place, daily. The wages to be
advanced to 62 ½ cents per diem for a good man. This
will make a saving of 37 ½ cents per diem, which I
regard as good as wasted now& Puna is a district overrun by
cattle, goats and hogs, which regard not stone walls, and
patiently wait until the crops begin to be valuable, then
appropriate them largely to their own use. This has a
depressing effect upon the little workers, who add cubits to
the height of the walls, until it becomes a matter of peril
to the inspector to climb over them in order to enter the
school house& (State Archives - Board of Education
Series 262, Hawaii Reports - 1877: 1 & 2) 1877 - Report of the Royal
Commissioners on Development of Resources District of
Puna: &This district is largely
composed of a-a and lava, and no large agricultural
enterprises, except stock raising are being prosecuted at
present. The natives of the district, however, look cleanly
and contented, and raise some coffee, cocoanuts, &c. The
cocoanut grows spontaneously, and its cultivation might be
indefinitely extended till the export of copra would be
quite important. There is a little boat landing at Mawae,
Kula, near Eldart's ranch, to which the present entrance is
dangerous in consequence of having to double round a reef of
rocks, a part of which might be blasted out, opening a
direct channel to a good boat harbor& The roads leading
to the harbor would need to be improvement. The roads
generally in the district are good& [Pacific
Commercial Advertiser - May 5, 1877] August 13, 1877
J. W. Kumahoa, Road
Supervisor District of Puna; to J. M. Smith, Minister of the
Interior: &I now have the time to
respond to you&there is trouble along my section of the
Government Road in the District of Puna, Hawaii, the animals
are destroying the road and laying it to
waste. The reason for this trouble is
the weakness of the Road Supervisor of Puna and cannot
undertake the work, because of this difficulty, therefore, I
have seen a man who can undertake this work, and his name is
T. M. Naahumakua. He is the one I feel is right&
(Subject File - Roads Hawaii; translated by
Maly) September 1st,
1877 Hawaiian Agricultural Company,
in consideration of $33,000.00, assigned lease and business
interests in the ahupua'a of Kea'au to J.E. Eldarts
and William H. Shipman. (Bureau of Conveyances Liber
51:222) October 11,
1880 J.F. Jordan, Hilo and Puna
Road Supervisor; to Judge F.S. Lyman,
Hilo: J.F. Jordan was appointed to
position of Road Supervisor in 1874. By the time of this
writing, he had also been given the position of Road
Supervisor in Puna District. Herein, Jordan reported that in
1874, he spent two months working on the new bridge at
Waiakea; and in regards to employment of prison labor on
road projects: &I could see that our road
money was in danger and that the prospects of our
accomplishing much with the prisoners under that state of
affairs would be very poor so I made those facts known to
the Minister of the Interior who had once authorized me to
ship a gang of men for the Hilo Road and let the prisoners
go which gives us today, Peace, Pleasure, and economy of
labor& &I have been trying to
avoid doing any work on the Puna or Volcano Road other than
what is actually necessary as that which is mostly required
on the Puna and Volcano Road is quite hard to get, and that
is fine dirt or gravel, the country being mostly stony,
now there is an appropriation of $10,000 for the Volcano
Road and $3000 for Puna, if I remember right, which if spent
for hand labor will not accomplish but a very little, owing
to the fact that gravel has got to be made out of stone,
whereas if $8000 is laid out for a steam stone crusher which
is also a road roller everlasting roads can be built to the
Volcano and also in Puna, and about five times the amount of
work can be accomplished with the money and still leave a
valuable tool which will do good work for many years to
come; with only about five men required - 1 to attend the
crusher, 1 the engine and 3 to bring stone by cart or
otherwise. With such machine the people of Hilo might well
expect to have good streets otherwise their money will go to
the hands of Chinese for not only a less quantity but a much
poorer quality of work& (Subject File - Roads
Hawaii) October 26,
1880 Petition of 101 native
residents of the District of Puna; to H.A.P. Carter, Minister of
the Interior: &We the commoners of the
District of Puna, Island of Hawaii, with great trust in your
leadership&petition you, asking that you respond to us
and help us because for several years past, we have had no
help from the Government from the troubles and difficulties
in our District& &2. For several years past
there has been no new repair work done on the roads in our
district, with this problem we have been
patient; 3. We have a good harbor in our
District but no buoys, chains and anchors to tie up the
ships that visit there; 4. There is great trouble and we
have had much patience with postal delivery because of the
many miles from Hilo, Puna and Waiohinu, Kau,
Hawaii; 5. This trouble is that there
are almost 15 miles that some people have to travel in our
District to get their mail or newspapers at the Post Office
in Hilo. Therefore with this explanation
and the appropriations granted by the Legislature of 1880 we
are hopeful that your excellency will help us in this
District& 1. - Courthouse and Jail
$800.00 2. - For the Roads and Pathways
of Puna $3000.00 3. - Buoys, anchors and chains
for the Harbor of Pohoiki $500.00 4. - Transport of mail from
Hilo, Puna and Kau $14.00 per week 5. - Transport of mail from Hilo
and Kilauea $3.00 per week& (Subject File - Roads Hawaii;
translated by Maly) December 13,
1880 Petition of foreign and
part-Hawaiian residents of Puna District;
to H.A.P. Carter, Minister of
the Interior: &In the matter of J.F.
Jordan - Whereas we, your petitioners are aware of a certain
petition in circulation, and soon to be presented to your
Excellency, requesting the removal from office of our
present Road Supervisor, and whereas, we are satisfied that
the said petition is an unjust one, and that the present
Road Supervisor has faithfully and conscientiously performed
the duties of his office during his
incumbency. We your petitioners do humbly
pray that said officer be sustained and continued in his
present position& (Subject File - Roads
Hawaii) February 10,
1881 Abraham Kapepa, on behalf of
the native residents of Puna; to H.A.P. Carter, Minister of
the Interior: &I have been instructed by
the native residents of the District of Puna to inform you
that it is not right for there to be only one Road
Supervisor for Puna and Hilo. Here are the
reasons: I. The Road Supervisor remains
only in Hilo all the time leaving Puna with no work done for
four years; II. We have not seen him to this
time, for the Road Supervisor is always working in Hilo and
does not think of the District of Puna; III. It is not right for Hilo
and Puna to have only one Road Supervisor. It was not that
way from before, it was always that there was a Road
Supervisor for Hilo and a Road Supervisor for
Puna; IV. If it continues for long
that there is no work done on the Roads of Puna, the damage
done by the Cattle will greatly increase. There is much rock
on the roads. What of the $3,000 set aside for this District
for the Legislature? V. If there is only one Road
Supervisor from Hilo and Puna he will not come to Puna
because there is so much work for him to do on the roads of
Hilo. So I saw several weeks ago in Hilo
Paliku& Here is who we think would be a
good Road Supervisor and we trust in his ability to make it
right, it is Rev. J.N. Kamoku. Here is the work and tasks
that he has at this time. He is a Minister and a member of
the School Board for this district and Assistant
Superintendent of the School. He is a verifier of Labor
Contracts, a member of the Puna Tax Board for 1880, and he
is well off& (Subject File - Roads Hawaii; translated by
Maly) February 12th,
1881 J.F. Jordan, Road Supervisor
Hilo and Puna Districts; to H.A.P. Carter, Minister of
the Interior: &We now have 35 men at work
in the Hilo District, the work is progressing rapidly and
very satisfactory to me&we have three gangs, D. Kamai
has 18 men, P.H. Apana has 10, our gang which is doing
bridge work consists of 1 mason and 6 laborers. We are all
working between Onomea and Hilo. P.H. Apana agrees to
take his gang on to the Volcano road. I have engaged a few
day men to go with me on the Volcano and Puna roads, for the
purpose of making a thorough examination of the roads; where
and how far apart the places are, where material can be got
and the best means of getting it to the road &c. On
my return I shall report to you& (Subject File - Roads
Hawaii) March 1st,
1881 J.F. Jordan, Road Supervisor
Hilo and Puna Districts; to H.A.P. Carter, Minister of
the Interior: Herein, Jordan presents perhaps
the earliest formal communication suggesting that a portion
of the makai Puna Road be dropped (the section from
Kea'au through lower Waiäkea); and that a new road from
Kea'au to the Kükulu vicinity of the Hilo-Volcano Road
be developed. &Your favor of Feb. 16th,
came duly to hand, wherein you spoke of a communication from
Puna District. It is true that I have done but little work
on the Puna road, owing to the fact that the road is now in
as good condition as it has been for the past six years. I
have talked from time to time with Shipman & Eldarts and
nearly all the best natives in the District asking their
opinion as to what would be the best to do, they do not seem
to know anything further than to take the stones out of the
road and cut the bushes, which has been done, with the
exception of a little on the Hilo end, which has been left
on account of changing the road. Your Excellency are aware
of the fact that the Puna road like the Volcano road, was
built of course stone with a small sprinkle of gravel which
had to be carried a long ways, put in the middle which made
a trail. This was done when labor was cheap, so that now
to repeat this work and accomplish something which would be
of benefit to the Public as well as a credit to the
operators, requires entirely different manner of doing the
work. With our tramway which is now about ready, we can
carry gravel from ½ to ¾ of a mile quite cheap,
but there is only a few places on either road where gravel
can be got. Since I first went over those roads, my idea has
been the we require a small stone crusher and road roller.
It is my candid opinion that we can accomplish fully three
times as much work with the money left, after buying a small
stone crusher and steam Road Roller when used in connection
with our tramway. Owing to the fact that I have been but a
short time in Govt. Employ and am feeling my way in to this
road work, also knowing that many extensive mistakes are
often corrected by the kind advice of good
people. I have talked with Judge Lyman,
S.L. Austin, Shipman, Eldart, Richardson, Kennedy and many
others who authorize me to use their names in recommending a
stone crusher for the volcano and Puna roads, with which to
build a six or eight foot road. We would not require a very
heavy crusher as we can find an abundance of small stones.
There is no hard rock in the District. Blake of New Haven
Conn. builds such a crusher as we require& (Subject File
-Roads Hawaii) March 2nd,
1881 J.F. Jordan, Road Supervisor
Hilo and Puna Districts; to H.A.P. Carter, Minister of
the Interior: &I did not have time to
write by yesterdays steamer as I should have done, owing to
the fact that I did not arrive in town until a few minutes
before the steamer left. I should have stated that I had
been over the first 16 miles of the Volcano Road, also the
Puna Road to a point 17 miles from Hilo. After a careful
inspection of both roads I find that there is not gravel or
fine material enough on that portion of either road to
justify any calculations on doing the work promised by the
amount of money appropriated. So that materials must be
made by hand or machine. Our bridge casting and car wheels
arrived in good order. We are building our tramway out of 2
x 4 we shall only lay it as fast as we make road bed
therefore it will have a solid foundation and will not be
likely to break& &I shall try and go to the south
end of Puna District as soon as I can and have a talk with
Rev. J.N. Kamoku and see what is required& (Subject File
- Roads Hawaii) March 26th,
1881 J.F. Jordan, Road Supervisor
Hilo and Puna Districts; to H.A.P. Carter, Minister of
the Interior: &Your favor of March 22nd is
at hand. I shall do as you direct me in regards to the
Volcano Road. I feel confident that I can do work on that
road which will please you. I have now a gang at work six
miles from Hilo on that road, our tramway is laid down on
the Hilo end ready for a start as soon as I can spare the
prisoners from the Hilo Road& Mr. Shipman will act
for me in Puna. I have about ¼ of a mile of tramway for
Hilo District with which we can bring gravel on our roads in
all kinds of weather. I shall send for four more pairs of
car wheels& (Subject File - Roads Hawaii) May 10th,
1881 J.F. Jordan, Road Supervisor
Hilo and Puna Districts; to H.A.P. Carter, Minister of
the Interior: &The work on the Volcano
and Puna Roads is progressing nicely. I am following the
plan recommended by your Excellency in regards to those
roads. I have made some alterations in our road roller, so
that now we can do pretty smooth work. We are using 4 head
of animals to haul it. We regulate heft by putting on rock,
by this we save a great deal of labor owing to find gravel
being so scarce. Our gang in Puna are at work on the new
road which connects the road of Puna with that of the
Volcano& (Subject File - Roads
Hawaii) May 26th,
1881 J.F. Jordan, Road Supervisor
Hilo and Puna Districts; to H.A.P. Carter, Minister of
the Interior: &Yours of May 17th came to
hand last week. In regards to the sledge hammers bought of
E.O. Hall & Sons, I was very much in need of them.
Thinking that yourself and all others in the Interior Office
would be very busy if not over worked owing to the small pox
in Honolulu, I took the liberty of ordering them as a great
deal of our work on the Volcano and Puna Roads has to be
done with sledge hammers. Nearly all the material
required to repair the Volcano Road through Panaewa woods,
which is also the Puna Road, will have to be made by
breaking up stone which is now lying on each side of the
road. Nearly all of the work on the first four miles of
the Volcano Road is let by contract to P.N. Apana and Evan
Cameron at 10 cents per foot, with the exception of about
¾ of a mile near town where I am working the prisoners.
This road to Panaewa woods, four miles is being made 16 feet
wide many hills cut down so as to make it a very good wagon
road. Considerable of it is already done this brings us to
the outer edge of all the cane land on that side of Hilo
Town. So that I do not think that there is any necessity for
trying to make anything more then a passable trail from
there to the Volcano& I have sent one of our
shipped Chinamen out into Puna to remain there and do the
repairs on the Road in the different places where it may be
required. It seeming strange to say that in all of Puna
there is not one man who can be hired to do road work. I
have offered them piece work where they could make four or
five dollars per day, but they will not work. It is true
there is but very few people in the district&I have 19
men at work on the new road which connects the Volcano and
Puna Roads this will be about 3 miles they have agreed to
build it for 5 cents per foot where any building is
required. Some of it will not require any work&
(Subject File - Roads Hawaii) June 16th,
1881 J.F. Jordan, Road Supervisor
Hilo and Puna Districts; to H.A.P. Carter, Minister of
the Interior: &Yours of June 6th came duly
to hand& Evan Cameron with the gang of white men
finished his contract to grade 6,000 feet of the Volcano
Road at 10 cents per foot, so I let them go. P.N. Apana has
nearly finished his contract to grade 3 ½ miles of the
Volcano Road. I shall try and do the balance of the work
required on the Volcano Road with shipped men and our
prisoners& I think that our plan of sending a man to
Puna under contract to keep that road in repair will also
give satisfaction, as one man can do all the work required
in that District from year to year& (Subject File -
Roads Hawaii) January
1882 Petition from 83 native and
foreign residents of Puna District; to Simona K. Kaai, Minister of
the Interior: Submitting a complaint regarding
development of the Kea'au-Kükulu Road, and apparent
abandonment of the old makai section of the Puna
Waiäkea Road. &We are native residents of
the District of Puna, Island of Hawaii. We humbly ask you to
appoint M.K. Kealawaa as Road Supervisor for the District of
Puna in the place of T. Keoki the previous foreign
Supervisor. First) It was not right for the
previous Road Supervisor to use the Government money from
the shore of Keaau to Kukulu at Panaewa as there are no
people who travel upon the road to this day, and the
Government is at a loss. Second) There has been no work
done on the road along the shore of Puna only a small area
has been worked on with a large portion of the district
remaining with no work done and there is great
disrepair. Third) In our thought it is
right for M.K. Kealawaa to be the Road Supervisor of Puna.
He was the assistant Road Supervisor with L. Kaina for four
years and is familiar with the work. Fourth) He was also the
Assistant Road Supervisor for J.W. Kumahoa for three years.
Therefore it is right for him to have the
job. In testimony of the truth of
this we sign our names below& (Subject File - Roads
Hawaii; translated by Maly) January 9th,
1882 Estate of W.C. Lunalilo to
S.M. Damon, J.E. Eldarts and
William H. Shipman Deed (Land of
Keaau): Trustees under the will of
William Charles Lunalilo sell the ahupuaa of Keaau,
District of Puna Island of Hawaii to S.M. Damon, J.E.
Eldarts and William H. Shipman. (see description of
boundaries as confirmed by the Boundary Commission in 1875)
& Reserving and excepting however such kuleana
titles as may be included within the said boundaries&
(Bureau of Conveyances Liber 70:461-462) January 9th,
1882 S.M. Damon, J.E. Eldarts and
William H. Shipman Agreement (Lands of Keaau and
Waikahekahenui): Partners in purchase of the
ahupuaa of Keaau agree not to sell or lease any share
of said lands of Keaau and Waikahekahenui without having
first in writing offered to sell or lease the same share to
others of said party jointly& (Bureau of Conveyances
Liber 70:462-463) Note: Isaac Adams sold the
ahupua'a of Waikahekahenui to S.M. Damon, W.H.
Shipman, and J.E. Elderts through a deed dated October 18th,
1881 (see Liber 71:358-359). January 9th,
1882 J.E. Eldarts and his wife
Ka'ai Elderts; to William Hillebrand Mortgage Deed (Lands of Keaau
and Waikahekahenui): In consideration of a loan for
$6,000.00, Elderts mortgaged his one-third undivided
interest in the lands of Kea'au and Waikahekahenui to Wm.
Hillebrand& (Bureau of Conveyances Liber
70:463-465) January 9th,
1882 Wm. H., and Mary E. Shipman
to William Hillebrand Mortgage Deed (Lands of Keaau
and Waikahekahenui): In consideration of a loan for
$6,000.00, Shipman mortgaged his one-third undivided
interest in the lands of Kea'au and Waikahekahenui to Wm.
Hillebrand& (Bureau of Conveyances Liber
70:465-467) (Note: Samuel M. Damon also
executed a similar document on the same
date.) January 25th and 26th,
1882 J.F. Jordan, Road Supervisor
Hilo and Puna Districts; to H.N. Armstrong, Minister of
the Interior: Jordan describes the completed
realignment of the Kea'au-Kükulu road connecting to the
new Hilo-Volcano Road; thus by-passing the makai
Kea'au-Waiäkea Road. [Jan. 26, 1882] &On
the 19th and 20th of this month we had a frightful rainstorm
through Hilo District, washing away 3 bridges; one 70 and
two 80 foot in length, also 3 stone culverts. Many of the
steep grades were torn away so as to make them impassable.
The dirt was all washed away leaving nothing but a mass of
rocks. I have taken all the men from the Puna and Volcano
Roads to Hilo so we are making good progress towards making
the road quite passable once more& &It will be seen by the
reports that $204.88 of the Puna Road money was used on the
Volcano Road. A new road has been made from Volcano Road at
a point 6 miles from Hilo to Keau [Kea'au] a point
10 miles from Hilo, so as to bring Puna travel in on Volcano
Road and save the repairs on 7 miles of Puna
Road. It will also be seen that
$249½ days [worth] of labor was borrowed from
Puna and worked on Hilo Road, after I received orders not to
draw against Hilo District. Bad weather set in and I was
forced to go back from time to time and do such work as
would keep the road open& [note dated Jan. 25th, 1882
attached to above communication] &I have been
trying for the past year to hire some men to do the road
work in Puna, being completely tired out with the style of
work done by Chinamen who offer themselves from time to time
when they want a weeks work, or rather a weeks pay. They
never earn half the money which the law of this country
would seem to force people to give them. In talking with the
planters from time to time they strongly encourage hiring
white labor for road work, as they would be far more
intelligent workers. Mr. Hitchcock told me that he would let
me have six of his men by paying him the amount of their
dept so I have taken 3 for Puna District. The natives in
that District will not work. Those 3 men are under contract
for one year and have all got family& (Subject File
- Roads Hawaii) ca. March
1882 Petition signed by 120 native
and foreign residents of Puna; to W.N. Armstrong, Minister of
the Interior: Complaint against Jordan and the
Kea'au-Kükulu Road realignment, and his failure to
maintain the traditional Puna Road alignment. &We are the people named
below, from the District of Puna, Island of Hawaii. We
petition you and humbly request that you appoint W.L. Haau
of this District to the position of Road Supervisor of Puna,
not J.F. Jordan, who is the Road Supervisor of Hilo and
Puna. Here are the reasons: (1) The road of Puna has not
been maintained and is left in disrepair. (2) The new road that has
been opened by Road Supervisor Jordan, from a place near
Haena, running to Kukulu, is of no value to the residents,
they do not use it; it is not in compliance with the Law,
and is a waste of three thousand ($3000) appropriated by the
Legislature for the roads of Puna in 1880. There has been no
work on the places that are a blessing to the people. At
this time the old road (alanui) is still traveled
upon. (3) It is only there in Hilo
that the Road Supervisor undertakes most of his work, not in
Puna. Therefore the disrepair of the road persists, and it
is as if it the road is nothing to the Road Supervisor of
Hilo and Puna. Because of this, it is right to have a
different Road Supervisor for Puna, who will do the
necessary work with the money appropriated by the
Legislature. (4) The road in Puna has in no
way been maintained. One Road Supervisor for both Hilo and
Puna means that Puna is just set aside. So the name which we wrote to
you above is the man who we think is good to be the Road
Supervisor of Puna. We feel that he is a good man, both in
his living and his work& (Subject File - Roads Hawaii;
translated by Maly) April 25,
1882 Petition signed by 29 native
and foreign residents and businessmen of Puna;
to W.N. Armstrong, Minister of
the Interior: &We received your reply
[dated March 28, 1882] to our petition that W.L.
Haau be appointed Road Supervisor of Puna. Your reply told
us that your were not of the mind to make the change at this
time, and the we should meet with Jordan, &c. Your reply
to us was good, but here is the difficulty as we understand
it: First: We have heard that Jordan
is resigning from his position as Road Supervisor and going
to work for Wilder (Waila) at Mahukona, Kohala. So no one is
of a mind to go and meet with him. Second: This seems to be just
another delay in doing the repair work on the road in the
District of Puna. Therefore we desire to see the undertaking
of the needed work on the road in this District by the one
thought of by the people of Puna. We ask this of the
Legislature which is in session& We are with humility, your
obedient servants& (Subject File - Roads Hawaii;
translated by Maly) September 22,
1882 C.N. Arnold, Road
Supervisor-in-Chief, Hawaii; to John E. Bush, Minister of the
Interior: Having been appointed to
position as Road Supervisor in Chief, Hawaii; Arnold reports
on the condition of roads in the districts of Kohala Hamakua
and Hilo. Communication includes detailed recommendations
for Hilo Bridges. Inspection report continued on November
7th, 1882, with descriptions of the Volcano Road and roads
in the District of Kau. December 5th,
1882 C.N. Arnold, Road Supervisor
in Chief, Hawaii; to John E. Bush, Minister of the
Interior: Arnold describes the lower road
from Waiakea to Puna. &I have the honor to
submit you the following report on the condition of the
lower or "Makai" Road in Puna District. The road from
Waiakea River to Elderts Ranch is in need of some little
repair, chiefly throwing the loose stones out of the road
which have been knocked off the side walls by cattle. This
road for almost its entire length is over pahoehoe and aa
and it is always dry, very little can be done to improve it;
as there is as yet no Supervisor for this District. I would
suggest the name of J.M. Kauwila as the most energetic man I
have met there for the position& (Subject File -
Roads Hawaii) December 7,
1882 Michael Hahale (at
Pepeekeo); to J.E. Bush, Minister of the
Interior (applying for position as
Road Supervisor, District of Puna): &If I should receive the
authorization of my Lord, your humble servant asks that I be
appointed Road Supervisor for the District of Puna, Island
of Hawaii. The roads of this district are not good for the
most part it is the road in the distant uplands that is in
disrepair. It has been fully 20 years or more that no work
has been done on this road, that is the road from the
boundary of Hilo to Volcano. The previous Road Supervisor
did not put any money into this road, he only spent money on
the lower section of the road over the last 20 years or
more. The $4,000 in funds is not enough but we will make do
with it for the work. Here is how the funds can be
divided, the coastal Road $5,500; the upland Road
$1,500. I have mistaken, there is not
$7,000 for the District of Puna as I thought, but only
$4,000. If I get your permission to become the Road
Supervisor of Puna the roads will be made
good. My great desire is to make the
upland road good; that is the road that ascends all the way
to the wondrous Volcano and Kau so that visitors from other
lands can come. Puna is the land of my birth and
I have resided there as a native therefore I am a newcomer
to Hilo& (Subject File - Roads Hawaii; translated by
Maly) January 18, 1883 Minister of the
Interior informs M. Hahale that he was not selected for the
position (Subject File - Roads Hawaii). September 29th,
1886 C.N. Arnold, Road
Superintendent-in-Chief, Hawaii; to W.M. Gibson, Minister of
Interior: &I beg to inform your
that the recent rains have rendered the road between Hilo
and the Ramie Plantation [near Kü'olo, Kea'au]
almost impassible for horsemen and entirely so for
teams. Mr. Lycau the manager of the Ramie Co. has
requested me to place the same in repair, as they are very
shortly expecting their machinery which must be hauled over
this road. 4 miles of the above road is in the Hilo district
and 5 ¾ miles in the Puna district. I estimate that for
$1000. I can put this road in good repair, although that sum
will not make a first class road. Hilo's portion of this
expense would be about $400. Puna's $600& (Subject File
- Roads Hawaii) November 23rd,
1886 C.N. Arnold, Road
Superintendent-in-Chief, Hawaii; to L. Aholo, Minister of the
Interior: Reports on heavy rains-no less
than 31 60/100 inches between Nov. 1st to 20th-with roads
and bridges washed out in various districts. &There is also some work
in the Puna District which should have immediate attention
Viz. The cutting out of the both Upper and lower roads
through the Puna woods and repairs to the road from Keau
[Kea'au] to Eldarts, a distance of 13 miles. I can
contract to have this road repaired for $520 or $40 per
mile. The work of cutting out the Roads through the woods
will cost $400 more& (Subject File - Roads
Hawaii) April 25th,
1887 C.N. Arnold, Road
Superintendent-in-Chief, Hawaii; to L. Aholo, Minister of the
Interior: &I beg also to call your
attention to the following works on Government Roads which I
consider of immediate importance Viz work repairing lower
Puna Road 8 miles, at $400.00& (Subject File - Road
Hawaii) July 14th,
1887 C.N. Arnold, Road
Superintendent-in-Chief, Hawaii; to L.A. Thurston, Minister of
the Interior: Describes work on the lower Puna
Road, a "bridle path," extending from Kea'au to
Kapoho. &Puna. The roads
of this district through the Paniewa [Pana'ewa]
Woods on both the upper and lower roads have very recently
been put in good repair. Some slight repairs are required on
the lower road from Keau [Kea'au] to Kapohu
[Kapoho] a distance of 13 miles as this is only a
Bridle trail these repairs will be light. Cutting the brush
out of the way and throwing out loose stones and repairing
any soft spots that exists. I estimate the cost of this at
$50 per mile or $650& (Subject File - Roads
Hawaii) December 3rd,
1887 C.N. Arnold, Road
Superintendent-in-Chief, Hawaii; to L.A. Thurston, Minister of
the Interior: Describes work on Lower Puna
Road, and difficulty in getting men to do the
work. &Your favor in reference
to work on the Puna Roads is at hand and in reply I beg to
say that the work has been well and cheaply performed. Mr.
C. Moore has had a contract for the most of it that portion
through the Paniewa [Pana'ewa] woods at the rate of
$50 per mile and there is also about 1 ½ miles between
there and Kapoho which was paid at the same rate. 12 miles
of road was let to him at the rate of $25 per mile. Juan
Souza had a contract in the Paniewa woods at the same rate
Viz $50 per mile and finished 1 1/3 miles $116.65. Hawelo's
[Hawelu] work was done on the upper, or Volcano Road
above the half way house and was about 1 mile in length. The
total length of road repaired was as near as I could say
without an actual survey 25 ¾ miles or about 2 ½
miles beyond Kapoho. I enclose you herewith a sworn
statement from Moore who had the most of the work in charge.
As I had no road Supervisor in that district [Puna]
the only way in which I could get the work done was to
contract for it on the best terms I could make. I have not
had a Supervisor there for 5 years and have done the work of
the district myself without pay& (Subject File - Roads
Hawaii) January 16,
1888 L.A. Thurston, Minister of the
Interior appointed W.H. Shipman to be a member of the Road
Board for the Taxation District of Puna, Island of Hawaii.
(Subject File - Roads Hawaii) November 16th,
1888 J.M. Lydgate to L.A.
Thurston, Minister of Interior: Describes survey and examination
of Volcano Road from Kükulu to 'Öla'a. Detailed
description of terrain given. (Subject File - Roads
Hawaii) September 4th,
1889 J.E. Elderts, Chairman Puna
Road Board; to L.A. Thurston, Minister of
Interior: Puna Road Board proposes that a
new Puna Road-from the Volcano Road in the vicinity of
Kükulu to Maku'u be opened, thus passing Shipman's
private land in coastal Kea'au. &The Puna Road Board held
a meeting in the courthouse at Pohoiki, Puna on the 27th.
And I was authorized to address you for information as to
when we can commence to draw for the second sum of one
thousand dollars, that we were to have for the Puna Roads.
It is proposed by the Board
to open a new road in the Puna District, starting from the
Volcano Road about 8 miles from Hilo, and coming out at Maku
[Maku'u], which will then give us a very good road
all the way to Puna. The route has been over by the full
Board and laid out ready to commence work on. Trusting that
we may be authorized to draw soon for the one thousand
dollars& (Subject File - Roads Hawaii) ca. April
1890 Petition from 50 Hilo Town
Residents; to L.A. Thurston, Minister of
the Interior: Requesting that improvements be
made to the lower Puna-Waiakea Road. &The undersigned
residents of the town of Hilo and vicinity, would hereby
request that a Government Road, of not less than 50 feet in
width be opened from the lower Puna Road in Waiakea along
about the present trail to Cocoanut Island. We believe
it to be a necessary road, and one which will soon be
necessary, if wharves are put up on the Waiakea side of the
bay& (Subject File - Roads Hawaii) April 26th,
1890 F.S. Lyman, Circuit Judge
Third Judicial District; to E.G. Hitchcock, Esq., Sheriff
of Hawaii: &The Minister of the
Interior having on the 22nd day of April A.D. 1890, in
writing informed me that it has been made to appear to him
by the petition of Fifty of the Tax-payers of the District
of Hilo, that a Government Road of not less than 50 feet
in width be opened from the lower Puna Road in Waiakea along
about the present trail, to Cocoanut Island, and duly
requested me to select a list of twenty four names from
among the legal voters of the District of Hilo&and
direct the Sheriff to draw therefrom a jury of six persons
to decide on the propriety of the measure proposed&
(Subject File - Roads Hawaii) December 22nd,
1890 J.E. Elderts, Chairman Puna
Road Board; to C.N. Spencer, Minister of
Interior: &As the Puna District has
over 80 miles of what is called Road and the Road tax for
the District only amounts to little over $300, hardly enough
to pay for 1 good man for the Cantonier, and it needs at
least 5 men, 2 on what is finished of the Volcano road, and
3 on the lower roads, and as I do not know where their pay
is to come from, I am waiting for further instructions from
you& (Subject File - Roads Hawaii) January 1st to April 1st,
1891 Report of the Government
Schools of the District of Puna: · Abraham Kekino was the
teacher at Makuu, there is no longer a school house, though
nine students took lessons. · No School reported at
Kea'au (the old coastal school lot). · S. Kaulupali was the
teacher at Ola, the school was a good building. (Public
Instruction files, Series 262: Box 4,
1891-Hawaii) Surveys of the New Puna Road
and Puna Homestead Lots The following series of
communications between A.B. Loebenstein, Government Surveyor
and Land Agent; the Minister of the Interior; and W.D.
Alexander, Surveyor General; provide readers with detailed
documentation on - native residency and land use practices
as remembered by natives at the time of his surveys; and the
development of the inland Puna Government Road, between
1891-1895. This new road, is generally the alignment of
Highway 130, which replaced the old Puna Government Road
along the coast. May 19,
1891 A.B. Loebenstein, Government
Surveyor; to C.N. Spencer, Minister of
Interior: Begins a series of
communications and reports on the initial surveys of the new
mauka Puna Road. &re Puna Road. I
began work on this following my return from Honolulu. With 5
men and an assistant, I have got as far as the land of
Waiakaiula, belonging to the Catholic Mission. The road as
now laid out by me after several attempts elsewhere, begins
at the old Volcano Road, about one mile beyond the Ramie
ranch. The nature of the ground the first 6 miles or so, is
pahoehoe, of the smooth and level kind, with numerous
"Kipukas" of good ground at places. From Waiakahiula on, the
good land begins. I have further secured from several of the
large property owners, quit claim deed for 50 foot rights of
way, which shall be forwarded to you after due
execution& (Subject File - Roads Hawaii) May 31,
1891 A.B. Loebenstein, Government
Surveyor; to C.N. Spencer, Minister of
Interior: &Re Puna Road. I have
returned from a week's work on this job. The work has now
extended as far as Kapoho, the whole distance covered from
the initial point at the Ramie Ranch by Kuolo, to the
present terminus being 70000 feet, nearly 13
miles. From the further boundary of the
Cath. Mission land. I have thus far occupied only Gov't
land, in one instance I have traversed for over 2 ½
miles on one unbroken stretch of fertile arable land, and
indications point to more beyond. I also take the liberty to state
that the whole public sentiment in Puna and Hilo is
favorable to the road& (Subject File - Roads
Hawaii) July 12th,
1891 A.B. Loebenstein, Government
Surveyor; to C.N. Spencer, Minister of
Interior: &Re Puna Road. I
herewith submit to you for approval, quit claim agreements
for right of way through the lands of Keaau &
Waikahekahe; I have further secured the signature of R.
Rycroft for right of way through the lands controlled by
him, & await merely the acknowledgement to the same
before sending them, - abstracts of agreements have also
gone forward to A.J. Cartwright & the Trustees of the B.
Pauahi Bishop Estate. All of the above will have
secured a right of way for the road to Opihikao a distance
of about 30 miles from Hilo. I am now within 2 miles of Kaimu
& have discontinued cutting the trail beyond this for
the present, pending your instructions& My official
report to you will embody all that has been done, with full
data & information as to cost of construction of road,
& adaptability of land for agricultural purposes. Of the
latter there are vast tracts, & the impenetrability of
the forest on rotten aa beds is one reason why the
progress of the work has not been more rapid& (Subject
File Roads Hawaii) July 20th,
1891 A.B. Loebenstein, Government
Surveyor; to W.D. Alexander, Surveyor
General, Hawaiian Government Surveys: &You will have observed from
the various documents sent down from time to time to the
Minister of Interior that I have been engaged for some time
on the location & preliminary survey of a road through
Puna. It was at the minister's request this job was
undertaken. My instructions were to pick out
if possible a suitable location of an eventual carriage road
through the interior, & by means of this road to open up
tracts suitable for agriculture or homestead purposes. The
actual field work was begun about the middle of May & up
to date has progressed as far as Kamaili, a short distance
from Kaimu. The initial pt. of the survey starts from the
junction of the Volcano and Puna road Ramie ranch about 1
mile outside of the Panaewa woods (a short cut to the
seacoast at Makuu, begun but not completed by the Thurston
administration) & follows a general contour line. A
bench mark established by McBruner at the time of his survey
of the Volcano Road, served as the basis of elevations
carried forward. The features of the country of one which
the road traverses for the first 10 miles are of little
account for purposes of agriculture, consisting mainly of
broad & flat belts of Pahoehoe. It is of a very
friable nature however & there are few irregularities,
rendering the construction of a road over the same a simple
and comparatively cheap affair& (Hawaii State Archives;
HGS DAGS 6, Box 3 - July 20, 1891) August 1,
1891 A.B. Loebenstein, Government
Surveyor; to W.D. Alexander, Surveyor
General, Hawaiian Government Surveys: &I note your instructions in
the matter of Honuaula hill station & will get a couple
of men to clear the top of the hill which like all the other
Puna hills is covered to the crest with ohia
timber&it is going to be a difficult matter to get men
for the Puna work. In itself it is a "mehameha"
[lonely or solitary] place with few inhabitants&
(HGS DAGS 6, Box 3) August 2,
1891 A.B. Loebenstein, Government
Surveyor; to C.N. Spencer, Minister of
Interior: &The Puna Road line has now
been laid out & profile located as far as Kaimu. I have
not proceeded beyond this but am now employed locating the
roads in position & hope to finish in a week or 10 days.
Unless you instruct me to the contrary or have other views
regarding what I shall do next, I shall proceed to take up
the subdividing of the lands of Nanawale & Kaniahiku in
accordance with directions previously given me by yourself
& the Surveyor Gen'l. I take the liberty of stating in
comments herewith, that the new road crosses these lands in
the best available location. A petition is now being
circulated through Puna addressed to you & soliciting
you to place the matter of constructing the road before the
Legislature& (Subject File - Roads
Hawaii) August 24,
1891 A.B. Loebenstein, Government
Surveyor; to C.N. Spencer, Minister of
Interior: &re Puna Road survey.
I have extended the same to the land of Kalapana &
discontinued for the present the survey beyond this. As
Kalapana & Kupahua are Gov't lands & you have
instructed me to cut up the same into homesteads, the
further extension of the road might be postponed until such
time as I can get at the homestead work& (Subject File -
Roads Hawaii) January 6th,
1892 A.B. Loebenstein, Government
Surveyor; to Geo. N. Wilcox
(Legislator): By this communication with
attachments, Loebenstein provides G.N. Wilcox (a member of
the Legislature) and W.D. Alexander (Surveyor General), with
detailed descriptions of work conducted in Puna-findings and
recommendations regarding past and present land use and
development of the new Puna Road. &In view of the passage of
the $30,000.00 appropriation for the road through Puna, I
take the liberty of enclosing to you a duplicate copy of the
report on "the new road to Puna", & of which I executed
a preliminary survey in 1891. I believe that I have already
informed you of the disappearance of the original copy &
the several circumstances connected with it. The supplemental report
mentioned at the close is a statistical index of the lands
in Puna, compiled so as to indicate ownership, location,
area, conditions & etc. of this I have a press copy at
your disposal. I bring the matter to your
notice at this juncture in view of your probable tour to
Hawaii, - officially - on the adjournment of the
Legislature. I would therefore suggest that you make the
trip through Puna over the ground covered by my survey &
thus assure yourself of whatever conditions, for or against
the construction of this road, may strike you at the
time. As I am so familiar with the
District, it would be well for me to accompany you, if you
think likewise, I await your orders& (Subject File -
Roads Hawaii) [Attachment
1] The New Puna
Road. Prof. W.D. Alexander,
Surveyor General Hawaiian Government
Survey. Among the interesting comments
in this communication is that Loebenstein reports that new
Maku'u-Kea'au Road (proposed and begun under the Puna Road
Board in 1889) was unfinished. Sir: Having been commissioned to
undertake a survey for a Road line through the Interior
District of Puna Hawaii, the object being to ascertain
- 1st. If any lands existed there
that were capable of development, but which are now locked
up by reason of there inaccessibility, and 2nd. To lay out a road, which
would bring such lands into cultivation and a market. I now
beg leave to submit the following report; The survey for the road was
begun in the middle of May and finished in August A.D. 1891,
the distance traversed over being 25 miles. The initial
point is on the present Volcano Road, within a few hundred
feet of the 9th mile from Hilo town. The distance, at this
point, from the sea coast being about 6 miles, and the
elevation above mean tide 312 feet. For over 1,000 feet or
so the line follows a short bit of newly constructed road,
which was originally intended to continue to the sea coast
at Makuu, and leaves the same on its junction with the old
Volcano Road. The arable land of Keaau flanks the road
on either side and the Pahoehoe is reached at a
distance of 7,000 feet from the starting point. The line
here debauches from the old Volcano Road, running over
smooth lava until Waipahoehoe is reached. This is a broad
flat of a mile in width of open land surrounded with
Pahoehoe and covered with considerable soil,
evidently accumulated from the denudation of several cones,
which still exists on the upper end. For the next 7 miles the line of
the road is carried over Pahoehoe, the general
elevation being 475 feet, distance from the sea coast being
6 miles. This stretch of 7 miles, lying over large tracts of
smooth solid lava, of the kind marked with rope like lines
and concentric folds, and covered with thin Ohia woods, is
remarkably easy to travel over, and for the progress of a
bullock cart would afford no difficulty even now. The
extensive forests of Makuu and Halona, Gov't. lands, distant
one and one-half miles above the road line, filled with an
exuberant mass of shrubbery, in which the presence of
bananas, Ki [ti plants], Yam, and Awa
[Piper methysticum] can be easily
distinguished, and the growths of young Sandal wood, which
seem to thrive and find support in the fissures which
intersect the surface are features which would make the
nearer approach desirable. The attempt to do so was made
but the undulating nature of the lava the many rounded
hillocks, and the constant concession of slight ascents and
descents, and the numerous fissures intercepting the plain,
all characteristics, which singularly exists both above and
below the surveyed road line through this section, as if
Nature had intended no other line, would have rendered any
other location unsuitable from a point of cost. While on the
other hand there is nothing to enjoin, from constructing
feeders to the main road, at available points, making use,
where possible of the numerous trails built and used in
ancient time, by the natives, for access to these
localities, their old planting grounds. An interesting feature of this
locality is the large number of lava caverns and long
subterranean passages abounding upon it, especially between
the 9th and 11th miles, in fact this whole tract is so
thoroughly penetrated by caverns that hollow sounds are
often heard beneath ones footsteps when traversing the
region. These subterranean passages are
generally entered through some opening made by the falling
in of the roof and prove to be regular arched ways, ranging
as much as 25 feet in width and 15 feet high and extending
for long distances. The floors have that corrugated ropy
appearance such as are seen on any viscid mass if drawn out
as it hardens. The roofs and sides are covered with
stalactites, the whole producing a wonderful effect when lit
up. These caverns evidently served
as burial places in ancient and comparatively modern times
in view of the fact that the benches here and there were
covered in human remains& By the sea coast, from Hilo
to Kaimu, it is 37 ½ miles and by the upper road as now
laid out it is not quite 34, and there is no doubt but that
this distance can be further reduced by improvements in
location at different points. The total receipts in road taxes
from the whole District for 1891 was no more than $408 and
of this whole amount only 104 dollars was collected with in
the first 23 miles ending at Kapoho, while from there to
Kaimu a further distance of 14 ½ miles the receipts
amounted to $118. Of this total of $222 nearly one
half was from tax payers either residing in the interior, or
else having their Kalo, Awa or Coffee patches
there, and who migrate back and forward between the sea
coast and the interior. The first settlement met with
after leaving Hilo by the sea coast road, is at Keaau, a
distant 10 miles where there are less than a dozen
inhabitants; the next is at Makuu, distant 14 miles where
there are a few more, after which there is occasionally a
stray hut or two, until Halepuaa and Koae are reached, 21
miles from Hilo, at which place there is quite a
village; thence to Kaimu there are only a few scattered
settlements here and there. A good many of those living
along the lower road have their cultivating patches in the
interior, along or within easy accessibility to the new
road. With rare exceptions this whole
stretch of country passed over by the lower road is only an
alternation between rugged fields of cool lava and the most
desolate areas of scoriae and clinkers. It is true that over
the barest fields there is found a stunted growth of trees
and a sprinkling of verdure, struggling for recognition and
growing in the many crevices and cavities in the lava, while
it is true that effort at cultivation are made here and
there these seem to succeed only in the holes made among the
stones or diminutive patches of earth scattered here and
there. Though even then the best spots afford but scanty
returns. Nearly all the food consumed
by the residents of this District is raised in the interior
belt to which access is had by the ancient paths or trails
leading from the sea coast& The finest sweet potatoes
are raised in places that look more like banks of cobble
stones or piles of macadam freshly dumped varying from the
size of a walnut to those as large as ones fist. In these
holes there is not a particle of soil to be
seen& The old sea coast road cannot
be kept in repair with the means now at its disposal and its
condition each year is becoming more unsafe and ruinous,
there is but little travel over it; it has been shewn that
there is little land capable of cultivation or development
either side of it and whatever travel there is now over it
would soon be entirely diverted to the upper road&
[Attachment
2] Supplementary Report On the
amount of Arable Land along the Proposed
Road: The statement appended hereto
endeavors to give an idea approximately of the acreage fit
for cultivation along the proposed road. A large portion of
the lands in Puna remain as yet unsurveyed and the
uncertainty in area is shown by the mark "(?)" in the column
headed "total area". It was originally intended to
incorporate with the list, those lands which beginning at
the sea coast extend but a short distance inland, but are
more or less out of reach except by ancient trails which can
be followed from the new road. Only a few of these lands
however, are other than small and worthless, and what little
decent land there is, is taken up by grants scattered here
and there. In view of the fact therefore that the whole
amount of arable land contained in these latter and all of
the rest of the District put together along the sea coast
road between Hilo and Kaimu, a distance of 37 ½ miles
would hardly exceed 2,000 acres by the most liberal
estimate, it is to be hoped that that the statement as
compiled will convey all the needed
information& Lands of Puna - Hawaii:
Approximate acres suitable for cultivation along the upper
road. Name of Land Owner
Total acres Dist. from Hilo as Surveyed Approx. Arable acres
Nature of Land Approx. Elev. of Arable land
Remarks Keaau W.H. Shipman
64275 a. 7-13 mi. 7000 a. soil & aa 250 to 1000 ft. This
land will grow cane, coffee, cocoa & etc., lies both
sides of the road. Olaa Crown 54260 11
mi. 12000 ditto ditto. Lots are now being applied for.
Considerable Kalo & coffee now being produced.
Waikahekahe I W.H.
Shipman Unsur-veyed 13 mi. Very little Pahoehoe Thin
forests growing on pahoehoe, only fit for grazing.
Waikahekahe 2 Est.
Queen Emma Unsur-veyed 13 ½ mi. Very little
Pahoehoe Similar to preceding, though there are small
patches of good land scattered here & there.
Popoki Makuu Halona
Keonepokonui Keonepokoiki Haw'n Gov't. Un-surveyed 14 ½
to 20 mi. 3,000 a. Soil & aa. 400-1500 These lands are
all unsurveyed with the exception of Keonepoko-nui. Large
islands of forest are scattered throughout this section,
some adjoin-ing, others from 1-1 ½ miles above the
road, the old cultivating patches were in these forests and
coffee, cocoa & etc will thrive in them. Large numbers
of young sandal wood trees are found growing on the
pahoehoe surrounding these forests. (Subject File - Roads Hawaii and
Interior Department - Land Files 1891) June 26th,
1893 A.B. Loebenstein, Government
Land Agent; to S.B. Dole
(President): &Survey for a road through
Puna, with its accompanying report gave the first official
estimation of the nature of a section of Hawaii which up to
that time had remained more or less of a terra incognito.
The survey of Puna since executed by me, further
demonstrates the presence of large & extremely fertile
areas through out the district, the large proportion of
which fortunately belongs to the Government& The only
mode of communication to speak of, now reaching into the
Interior is over my line of survey which is now a well
beaten path to Waiakahiula & the Nanawale homesteads, a
distance of about 10 miles from the initial point of the
survey& A good passable wagon or bullock
cart trail over the lava, the cracks filled in & the
mounds or rough projections leveled off, would be sufficient
for the demands of sometime to come& I will not
transgress upon your time much further, & merely
communicate the fact that this Puna Road is absolutely
necessary to the further development to that District, as
much as the Volcano Road is to Olaa, & that a petition
to that fact would receive the willing signature of every
resident& (Subject File - Roads Hawaii) July 27th,
1893 J.W. Mason, Chairman Puna
Road Board; to J.A. King, Minister of the
Interior: &Yours acknowledging receipt
of my quarterly statement to hand and noted. Our funds are
being used up more rapidly than we could wish, but not more
so than we could consistently expect, considering the
condition of the roads. The fund placed at our disposal will
be entirely depleted with in the next 30 days & the
Volcano Road will not be fixed and but little work done in
lower Puna. It is very essential that the Volcano road be
fixed at once, if it is not it will cost the Government
quite a sum later, as wagons loaded with freight go right
through now, in places where the most of the covering has
been washed off... In lower Puna they want to do some needed
repairing& (Subject File - Roads Hawaii) March 28th,
1894 Frank S. Dodge, Assistant,
Hawaiian Government Survey; to James A. King, Minister of
Interior: &In accordance with the
letter of instructions of March 8th from the Attorney
General, I have made an examination of a large portion of
the surveyed lines of the proposed road through central
Puna, and herewith submit my report on the
same. March 14th to 18th inclusive,
were spent in the district of Puna, three days of that time
being devoted to matters in connection with the new road,
going over the line as surveyed by Mr. A.B. Loebenstein in
1891, and examining the adjacent lands to be opened. The
larger part of the time was spent upon that section of the
line between Keaau where it leaves the Volcano Road near the
"Nine Mile" post, and land of Malama about three miles from
Pohoiki& From the initial point on the Volcano Road,
nine miles from Hilo, to the Nanawale Homesteads, the survey
follows an almost direct line for nearly eleven miles, and I
found no good and sufficient reasons for making any radical
changes as proposed by Mr. Loebenstein& The first
section of this road is already traversed by loaded wagons
from Hilo, with lumber and supplies for the
settlers. An expenditure of a few thousand
dollars would make a great improvement over the present
condition of things and offer a great incentive to further
settlement of that region& The demand for the road is
universal, and the whole district would benefit by its
immediate construction. In building the new road I think ten
thousand dollars ($10000.00) would do a great deal on the
first section of 11 miles to the Nanawale Homesteads, and
make a good cart road that would answer all requirements for
the present&a road of twenty feet in width is all that
is needed across the Keaau plain&(Subject File - Roads
Hawaii) ca. April
1895 Petition sent by approximately
100 native and foreign residents and tax payers of Hilo and
Puna, protesting the possible removing of prisoners from the
Puna Road project; to J.A. King, Minister of the
Interior: &The undersigned residents
and tax payers of Hilo and Puna districts of the island of
Hawaii, having reason to believe that an effort is being
made to have such prisoners as are now employed in building
a public road from the nine mile post on the present Volcano
Road across the District of Puna through the coffee lands of
the southern portion of Puna removed, thereby stopping all
work of constructing said highway, wish to make a most
emphatic protest against such action& By delaying the
work on this road the commercial & other interests of
Hilo are seriously crippled, and the undersigned residents
of Hilo & Puna do not think that injustice & right
there should be any further delay in the said road's
completion& (Subject File - Roads Hawaii) May 1st,
1905 Exchange Deed 110 and Deed
1338 between: the Department of Public
Instruction and W.H. Shipman On May 1, 1905, the Department
of Public Instruction granted to W.H. Shipman, both Keaau
School lots, described in School Grant 3, Apana 8;
and School Grant 4, Apana 8 [note this should be
Apana 18 as recorded in the 1853 survey and recordation
files cited above], School and Church Lot at Keaau 2.
This done in exchange for a lot near the nine mile marker on
the Puna Road, in Keaau. (Bureau of Conveyances Liber
270:149-152) By this transaction, the
Government relinquished its interests in both coastal lots,
granting them to W.H. Shipman; in return for the new school
lot. Kea'au Surveys 1901, 1911,
and 1912 In the period between 1901 to
1912, A.B. Loebenstein and Thos. Cook conducted surveys of
Kea'au. The surveyor's field books, in the collection of the
State Survey Division contain several important drawings and
notations of features along the Puna Trail-Old Government
Road, and along the coast of the present study area.
Additionally, because the surveyors were working with native
residents of the Waiäkea-Maku'u vicinity (e.g., Hawelu,
Keanaha Pu'ukohola, and Kawailohi), they recorded a number
of place names and features in the coastal region.
Appendix B at the end of this study provides readers
with copies of selected pages from the original field note
books (courtesy of Randy Hashimoto - State Survey
Division). March 31,
1923 W.H. and Mary Shipman convey
14.6 acre parcel of land bounded by the road leading to Hilo
in coastal Kea'au to Herbert C. Shipman (Bureau of
Conveyances, Liber 673:143); and W.H. and Mary Shipman
conveyed to Clara Shipman-Fisher (and husband), a 20 acre
parcel in coastal Kea'au, bounded on the makai side,
by a stone wall along the ancient Puna Road (Liber
673:144) Kea'au and
Waikahekahe - Land Court
Application 1053 By 1930, W.H. Shipman initiated
Land Court proceedings to record the boundaries of the
ahupua'a of Kea'au. On December 17, 1930, Charles L.
Murray, Assistant Government Surveyor, notified R.D. King,
Surveyor, Territory of Hawaii, that he was transmitting
under a separate cover, working sheets of surveys for Kea'au
and vicinity. The work was conducted as a part of Land Court
Application 1053, included surveys of the "old volcano
trail, the Pahoa Road and a tracing of the closure,
coordinates, and area of Keaau." (Murray to King, Dec. 17,
1930; in the files of the State Survey Division). Of general
interest to this study, and the condition of trails in the
vicinity of the boundaries between Kea'au and the Olaa
Homesteads at the time of the surveys, Murray
wrote: The trails on these maps are
shown where they are clearly defined. There are no signs to
show that this trail is still in use. In many places a heavy
moss has grown on the grooved trail in the pahoehoe and in
other places the trail is covered with "uluhi" fern. Still
in other places new trails have been opened away from the
old trail. All this goes to show that the old trail is very
seldom used if ever& (Murray, Dec. 17, 1930:2; in
the collection of the State Survey Division - Land Court
Application Folder 1) Survey records for the lands
near the coastal section of Kea'au, including the section
crossed by the old Puna Government Road. Murray also
references Mäwae (Mawae)-famed in the history of
Kamehameha I as the place where he was struck over the head
with a paddle, thus forming the Känäwai
Mämala-hoe (Mämalahoa), or Law of the
splintered Paddle-and he cited the location of the
heiau (ceremonial site) "Kawikawa." The following
documentation is excerpted from Murray's field
notes: 10. Waiakea-Keaau Bdy: - The
bearing of the line mauka of the angle "Mawae" was
calculated from the new set of coordinates given to the
"angle in the woods" (Keaau corner) derived from the new
Volcano traverse, and the coordinates of "Mawae." The
bearing and distance between "Mawae" and the sea was
calculated from a point at highwater mark as the end of a
concreted stonewall. This line is slightly different in
azimuth from the Terr. Survey office records and
considerably different in distance due to the fact that
"Kawikawa" heiau is a short ways above high water mark, and
the Survey office records bring the boundary only to the
heiau and not to highwater mark. "Mawae" is at the point
where the old Puna-Hilo Boundary sign originally stood and
altho Mr. W.H. Shipman claims that "Mawae" should have been
a few hundred feet toward the Hilo he has conceded to the
present location of "Mawae" which has been considered the
correct bdy point by the Government for over 30 years&
(ibid.:3) 12. Government Beach Rd.:
(exception No. 1) The Government beach road is in fact a
well built trail which is 10 feet wide from curbing to
curbing. It does not wind in and out to follow the contour
of the land but goes in straight lines as described. It has
been substantially marked especially where the Keaau
boundaries cross it& (ibid.:4) (See the approved 1933 map,
"Trails of Kea'au, Waikeahekahe Nui and Waikahekahe
Iki" prepared by the County of Hawaii.) Excerpts from Documentation
Recorded in: Land Court Application 1053 -
W.H. Shipman Limited, to Register and Confirm Title
to Land Situate at Island of Hawaii,
Territory of Hawaii. I. THE AHUPUAA OF KEAAU:
R. P. 7223, L.C.A. 8559-B, Apana 16 to W.C.
Lunalilo. &After W.H. Shipman acquired
title in the early '80s [1882] he made no transfer
of any portion of the Ahupuaa for more than ten years. Then
came the coffee boom between 1894 and 1900 he sold nearly
4000 acres, chiefly in the vicinity of what is now called "9
miles Olaa". Twelve deeds were executed& In 1899 Shipman leased nearly
4000 acres of Keaau to Olaa Sugar Company, Limited, for a
term of 40 years& HILO RAILROAD COMPANY:
Various grants of rights-of-way to this company appear in
the Abstract (Pp. 145, 157, 305). The petition and map filed
herein show that these rights are now claimed by the Hawaii
Consolidated Railway, Limited, by virtue of a deed from John
L. Flemming and others to Hawaii Consolidated Railway,
Limited, Dated March 15th, 1916, and recorded in Book 450 at
Page 113& OLAA SCHOOL LOT. By
various exchanges with the Territory of Hawaii, W.H. Shipman
divested himself of title to 5.97 acres of Keaau situate on
the Puna Road near its junction with the Volcano
Road& II. AHUPUAA OF WAIKAHEKAHE-NUI.
L.C.A. 8525; R.P. 2236, Apana 3 to Kale. This is a narrow sliver of land
with a short frontage on the sea adjoining Keaau on its
easterly side and running several miles
mauka. The awardee, Kale, seems to have
been Sally Davis, daughter of Isaac Davis, a colleague of
John Young, a follower of Kamehameha First, and one of the
first white men to settle in Hawaii. W.H. Shipman claimed
through a complete paper title from Sally Davis' heirs. The
land is chiefly ancient lava flows covered in part with
forest, and the boundaries were uncertain and the surveys
defective owing to the difficulty of the
terrain& IV. L.C.A. 8081. R.P. 4360 to
HEWAHEWA: This is a kuleana within the
boundaries of Keaau and petitioner has good title by
unbroken chain of conveyances from the original awardee - a
rather unusual condition, seldom met with in discussions of
Hawaiian kuleanas. V. ROYAL PATENT GRANTS 3 AND
4, LOTS 8 and 18 to the BOARD OF
EDUCATION: These were small lots on the
beach of Keaau set aside in early days for school purposes.
The native population in this vicinity was scant at best and
with the advent of Olaa plantation the schools on the beach
were closed for lack of pupils, and a large school lot was
acquired near the junction of the Pahoa and Volcano Roads in
Olaa village. This was obtained by exchanges hereinabove
discussed with W.H. Shipman, and the two grants above were
given to Shipman. The title to these grants is good. (Land
Court Application 1053, File Pages 61-69) Sept. 2,
1932 Land Court Application
1053 E.L. Wung, County Engineer;
to Honorable Robert D. King,
Surveyor, Territory of Hawaii: &I have received the advance
sheet of Land Court Application No. 1053, for which I wish
to thank you. I notice that on the map that
only the main trail, "Exception No. 1", was reserved for the
Government. It is also noted that the other old trails
leading to Papai, Papuaa, Kahului, etc. and also the trails
along the beach and another trail from the present
Olaa-Pahoa road to the beach are not being
reserved. My attention has been called
time and time again about the public being barred from
fishing and gathering opihis along the Keaau coast, as well
as all fishermen after landing on the beach from canoes and
sampans. Also in some instances men walking along the beach
from Waiakea were driven out. I regret to bring these charges
up at this time, however, as county engineer and a public
servant, I feel that it is my duty to inform you of the
conditions here that you may investigate the matter
thoroughly and act for the interest of the general
public. You will note that in the
Geological Survey maps that some of the trails are shown,
but there is no doubt that you have older maps which show
several other trails. About eleven years ago, a poor
Hawaiian was charged and brought before court and indicted
for trespassing the Keaau land to gather opihis,, finally
public sentiment became so great that it was
squashed. Now, land court petition No.
1053 plainly shows that the public will be forever barred
from the beach if said land court passes. I feel it is your
duty as well as mine to see that the public is not deprived
of such rights. Kindly have the high waterline
defined more correctly on the ground and have all the trails
relocated and reserved for the public before it is too
late. Kindly keep this letter to
yourself as the owners of Keaau are very powerful both
politically and financially& (State Survey Division File
- Land Court Application 1053) September 15,
1932 Land Court Application
1053 Robert D. King, Surveyor,
Territory of Hawaii; to Mr. E.L. Wung, County
Engineer of Hawaii: &This is in acknowledgment
of your letter of the 2nd instant, in the above entitled
matter, and I beg to advise you that all matters regarding
the government and the public interests, as they may be
affected by this application, will be taken up as soon as
the advertisement is published for the hearing of this
case. We have had a case of a similar
nature on the island of Kauai and both the County Attorney
and County Engineer cooperated in doing much of the initial
work and studies regarding the preservation of the public
interests. So in this instance the Attorney General's
Department, as well as this office will have to depend to a
great extent on the information, data and testimony that
officials on the ground can much more conveniently gather. I
would therefore ask you to cooperated with us to this
extent. There is one feature of Land
Court titles that may not be generally understood and that
is: a Land Court title does not take away nor does it
extinguish any rights of easement and others of like nature
in existence prior to the adjudication of such a title.
It is well however, to have such rights, if any, defined at
the time of the hearing, so it would be advisable for you
and the legal department of the County to make all
preliminary surveys and investigations as will preserve any
existing rights. If a map of this application
will be of any assistance, I shall be glad to have one made
and forwarded to you& (State Survey Division File - Land
Court Application 1053) On September 16, 1932 R.D. King
sent a similar communication to Senator William K.
Kama'u. October 24,
1932 Land Court Application
1053 Robert D. King, Surveyor,
Territory of Hawaii; to Harry R. Hewitt, Attorney
General: Honolulu,
Hawaii. &I beg to report as
follows: That when the field and
office check of the survey and map presented with Land Court
Application 1053, was made and reported to the Land Court by
this department, it was considered that the government road
along near the beach, which is described in the application
as "Exception No. 1", was sufficient to protect the public
thoroughfare in vicinity of the coast and that there were no
public roads or trails other than that provided for in the
various exceptions described in the application. Other
trails were noticed by the field surveyor but these were
assumed to be cattle trails as Keaau is a cattle ranch.
Whilst I was in Hilo September
last, the County Engineer called on me and reported that
there were a number of trails which he considered public
easements running from the public highways to the sea, so I
asked for a conference with officials of the County of
Hawaii at which were present the County Engineer, the Deputy
County Attorney (Correa) and myself, and drew their
attention to the fact that this application would shortly
come before the Land Court, and that if it was the wish of
the county to make any claims of any nature whatsoever that
evidence should be gathered to substantiate such claims and
present it through you to the Land Court. I had previously received
letters from Senator William K. Kamau and County Engineer
Wung, regarding certain trails which they felt should be
preserved in the land of Keaau& Mr. Wung, the County Engineer of
Hawaii, stated that there were no funds available for
surveying the trails over which easements should be claimed
in the nature of public rights-of-way and he requested that
this department make such surveys, but if such public
easements exist, descriptions by metes and bounds are not as
satisfactory as a map showing the general location of the
trails; for in the case of old trails there is often a
difference of opinion as to the exact line followed, and the
court as in previous cases been willing to reserve such
claims by general clause and reference to the applicant's
map on which the trails are delineated. But if you advise that a further
survey ought to be made in connection with the claims now
being presented by the County Engineer of Hawaii, and that
such additional surveys should be made by this department,
then it is felt that such additional surveys would only be
considered when the county officials of Hawaii have
satisfied that there are in fact public interests
involved& I have now received from the
County Engineer and enclose you herewith a blue print copy
of a plan prepared in the office of the County Engineer of
Hawaii on which are shown the trails over which the public
easements are claimed. There are also enclosed copies of
correspondence between the Territorial Surveyor and County
Engineer Wung regarding these claims& (State Survey
Division File - Land Court Application 1053) November 16,
1932 E.L. Wung, County Engineer;
to Robert D. King, Surveyor,
Territory of Hawaii: &The Board of Supervisors
discussed with Mr. Herbert Shipman for about two days
relative to the Keaau Land Court Petition No. 1053, with
many interested people attending. The County was willing to
abandon all the trails above the Waiakea-Kapoho trail
(exception No.1) provided Mr. Shipman will turn his private
road (Keaau Road) to the Government, but Mr. Shipman would
not agree. So, therefore, the Board of Supervisors
has instructed Honorable W.H. Beers, County Attorney, and
myself to take the matter up with you and Mr. McGhee and
request the surveying and reservation of all the old trails
below the Kapoho-Waiakea trail (exception No. 1) and at
least one trail above the Kapoho-Waiakea trail (exception
No. 1) to the Pahoa-Olaa Government road as noted in red on
the blue print submitted herewith. It is recalled that Papai and
Papuaa were quite large villages formerly and there were
trails along the beach as well as on all parts of the Island
of Hawaii where fishermen had the free right to go fishing
any time and anywhere with few
exceptions. While you were last you
mentioned about helping me to locate and reserve the trails
for the Public. Mr. Beers also pointed out that the above
subject is a Territorial matter and should be taken care of
by the Territory. However, the County is more that
willing to cooperate, so therefore kindly advise me as to
what steps to follow. The Board of Supervisors
instructed me to spend not more than $1,000.00 to have the
trails surveyed, therefore, I believe with the help of Mr.
Charles Murray, your assistant, we can push the work thru.
I'll have Mr. John Smith, Surveyor, and some radiomen to
help out.
<-Back Next
->