The Albert Spencer Wilcox Building is a historic building in Līhuʻe, Kauai,

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

. Originally a library when it opened in 1924, it was later converted into the Kauai Museum. It has exhibits on the history of the island of Kauai. It was added to both the Hawaiʻi Register of Historic Places and the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1979.

Library

The first library on the island of Kauai was probably established by Reverend John Mortimer Lydgate in 1900 at his church in Līhuʻe. After moving to a temporary home in 1921, a permanent home was needed. On February 3, 1922, Emma Kauikeolani Wilcox, widow of businessman and politician

Albert Spencer Wilcox Albert Spencer Wilcox (May 24, 1844 – July 7, 1919) was a businessman and politician in the Kingdom of Hawaii and Republic of Hawaii. He developed several sugar plantations in Hawaii, and became a large landholder. Early life Albert Spence ...

(1844–1919) offered

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

75,000 for a public library on Kauai. In October 1922 architect

Hart Wood Hart Wood (1880–1957) was an American architect who flourished during the "Golden Age" of Hawaiian architecture. He was one of the principal proponents of a distinctive "Hawaiian style" of architecture appropriate to the local environment and r ...

was selected to design the building named in honor of Wilcox. Built with John Hansen as general contractor, it opened in 1924 to house the first public library on the island.

Museum

In April 1954 a committee started raising funds for a museum to be built next to the library.

Juliet Rice Wichman Juliet Rice Wichman (October 23, 1901November 5, 1987) was a Hawaiian conservationist, botanist, and author. Wichman worked to preserve Hawaiian culture, flora, and fauna through the creation of the Limahuli Garden and Preserve and through wri ...

was chair of the committee. A granddaughter of businessman and politician

William Hyde Rice William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

, she had married Frederick Warren Wichman after the death of her first husband Holbrook M. Goodale. The new building was designed by architect Kenneth Roehrig and named for Rice. Wichman became the museum's first director, and would later co-found the

National Tropical Botanical Garden The National Tropical Botanical Garden (NTBG) is a Hawaii-based not-for-profit institution dedicated to tropical plant research, conservation, and education. It operates a network of botanical gardens and preserves in Hawaii and Florida. History I ...

and donate land to become the

Limahuli Garden and Preserve The Limahuli Garden and Preserve is a and on the north shore of Kauai island, Hawaii. It is one of the five gardens of the non-profit National Tropical Botanical Garden. Description Limahuli lies within a tropical valley covering three disti ...

to the garden. The first manager of the museum was Dora Jane Isenberg Cole (1917–1988), a second cousin of Wichman sharing great-grandfather

William Harrison Rice William Harrison Rice (October 12, 1813 – May 26, 1862) was a missionary teacher from the United States who settled in the Hawaiian Islands and managed an early sugarcane plantation. Life William Harrison Rice was born on October 12, 1813, ...

(1813–1862) but

Paul Isenberg Paul Isenberg (April 15, 1837 – January 16, 1903) was a German businessman who developed the sugarcane business in the Kingdom of Hawaii. Life Paul Heinrich Friedrich Carl Isenberg was born April 15, 1837, in Dransfeld, Kingdom of Hanover, G ...

(1837–1903) as her paternal grandfather. On December 3, 1960, the museum opened to the public in the Rice building. In 1969 the state of

built a new library building, and the Wilcox building was converted to house additional exhibits of the Kauai Museum, opening in December 1970.

Preservation

The Wilcox building was listed on the Hawaiʻi Register of Historic Places as state historic site 50-30-11-9344 on February 17, 1979. It was added to the

National Register of Historic Places listings in Hawaii This is a list of properties and historic districts in Hawaii listed on the National Register of Historic Places. More than 340 listings appear on all but one of Hawaii's main islands (Niihau being the exception) and the Northwestern Islands, a ...

on May 31, 1979, as site 79000760. It is located at 4428 Rice Street, in Līhuʻe.

Family tree

Gallery

File:Kauai Museum, 4428 Rice Street, Lihue, Hawaii.jpg, Kauaʻi Museum, 4428 Rice Street, Lihue, Hawaii File:The Gift Shop in the Kauai Museum.jpg, The gift shop in the Kauaʻi Museum File:Kauai Museum in the Albert Spencer Wilcox Building.jpg, Kauaʻi Museum in the Albert Spencer Wilcox Building File:Captain James Cook Lands at Waimea Bay, Kauai on January 20, 1778, an exhibit at the Kauai Museum.jpg, Captain James Cook Lands at Waimea Bay, Kauai on January 20, 1778, an exhibit at the Kauaʻi Museum

References

External links

* {{Authority control Libraries on the National Register of Historic Places in Hawaii 1924 establishments in Hawaii National Register of Historic Places in Kauai County, Hawaii Museums in Kauai County, Hawaii Museums on the National Register of Historic Places Library buildings completed in 1924 Hawaii Register of Historic Places