The history of Hana is long and complex, and I can only give a very basic starting outline. History buffs can likely find plenty of books that include Hana history, and the lovely volunteers at the Hana Cultural Center can be very helpful. Better yet, talk to the local people! I feel that just being in Hana and seeing it firsthand has really given me a sense of what the people and land have been through together over the years. History is about people, and the Hana people are connected with their land, dedicated to their families, and are a joy to get to know. Physical remnants of the past are also evident everywhere.
According to my Lonely Planet guidebook, Hana was the "seat of power" for East Maui. In the 14th century, Hana Chief Piilani conquered the rest of Maui from this remote location, making the first united Maui under one ruler. King Piilani built the largest heiau (temple) in Hawaii, Piilanihale Heiau, at the size of almost two football fields. Piilanihale Heiau is located in the Kahanu National Botanical Garden in Hana (see my entry in my "Heavenly Hana" journal). Other projects by King Piilani include the construction of fish ponds and the "King’s Trail" that circled the entire island of Maui. A four-mile section of the King’s Trail still remains in the Hana area (see my journal entry also in my "Heavenly Hana" journal). Next, according to author Rita Ariyoshi in her book "Maui on My Mind," Hana fell under Big Island rule. She writes:
"In the beginning of the 14th century, a Hana romance sparked the first interisland invasion. Two sons of Maui’s King Piilani both fell in love with the same chiefess, sister of a powerful chief of the island of Hawaii. After a long and bloody siege, Hana fell to Big Island rule. It remained a part until the 18th century, when Maui’s Kahekili finally won it back."
In more recent history, whaler George Wilfong arrived in Hana in 1849. He purchased 60 acres of land and planted sugar cane. A small mill was built and a short section of rail connected the fields to the mill (I often walked on the old railroad bed which was near my temporary home in Hana). When Wilfong couldn’t find enough willing workers in Hana, he offered 10-year labor contracts. According to Rita Ariyoshi, the offer was "150 dollars cash up front, and a company store to get the cash back. When the Hawaiians declined, Wilfong brought the first Chinese laborers to Hana in 1852. His mill eventually burned and arson was suspected. More plantations were founded in the rolling hills, and by 1942, sugar dominated the economic life of the Hana coast." But in the 1940s, Hana could no longer compete with the larger suger plantations on the west side of the island, so the local mill shut down.
Next arrived San Francisco businessman Paul Fagan. Fagan was the owner of the Puu o Hoku Ranch on Molokai, who then purchased 14,000 acres in Hana. He started with 300 cows at Hana Ranch and opened a small ranch hotel for his friends to stay at. He also brought over his minor-league baseball team, the San Francisco Seals, for spring training.
The hotel is larger now and is known as the Hotel Hana-Maui, an upscale establishment. The ranch is also still in operation with thousands of cattle. Paul Fagan definitely brought jobs to Hana, and the start of the still-modest tourist industry. After a 1946 tsunami wiped out many businesses in Hana, many people went to work for the ranch. In her book, Rita Ariyoshi explains a local monument: "The grateful community erected a memorial stone cross on Lyons Hill in back of the hotel when Fagan died."
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