Kahikolu Church is one of only two stone churches from the 19th century on the
island of Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii ) is the largest island in the United States, located in the state of Hawaii. It is the southeasternmost of the Hawaiian Islands, a chain of volcanic islands in the North Pacific Ocean. With an area of , it has 63% of th ...
. It was built from 1852–1855 on the site of an earlier building known as Kealakekua Church that was built around 1833 in the
Kona district
Kona is a ''moku'' or district on the Big Island of Hawaii in the State of Hawaii, known for its Kona coffee and the location of the Ironman World Championship Triathlon. In the current system of administration of Hawaii County, the ''moku'' ...
.
History
English missionary
William Ellis (1794–1872) toured the island in the summer of 1823 to determine locations for mission stations and suggested the village of Kaawaloa at the north end of
Kealakekua Bay
Kealakekua Bay is located on the Kona coast of the island of Hawaii about south of Kailua-Kona.
Settled over a thousand years ago, the surrounding area contains many archeological and historical sites such as religious temples (heiaus) and also ...
as one of the first sites for a church.
![Henry Obookiah, pic for Kahikolu](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Henry_Obookiah%2C_pic_for_Kahikolu.jpg)
In February 1824
High Chiefess Kapiolani built a thatched house in the village of Kaawaloa for use as a Christian church by Rev. James Ely (1798–1890) and his family. Ely left Kaawaloa in 1828, replaced by Rev. Samuel Ruggles (1795–1871), who brought some coffee trees with him from the
Hilo mission.
Ruggles was replaced due to ill health in June 1833 by Rev. Cochran Forbes (1805–1880). Forbes built a house at a cooler elevation, at a site called ''Kuapehu'' which had been used to grow
taro
Taro () (''Colocasia esculenta)'' is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, and petioles. Taro corms are a food staple in Africa ...
. In 1839, under the direction of Kapiolani, Forbes moved the mission to the south side of Kealakekua Bay, in an area called ''Kepulu'', just inland from the village now called Nāpoopoo. Another house was built here, and a church which was by of stone and coral lime. In 1841 the Kealakekua Church was finished, and used until June 1845, when Forbes resigned because of his wife's ill health.
After six years with no pastor, Rev.
John Davis Paris (1809–1892) arrived in 1852. His family had been at
Waiōhinu for several years, returned to the United States, and then came back to the island and were posted to the Kealakekua congregation. He found the large old church in ruins.
He set about building a more solid but smaller stone church called ''Kahikolu'' on the site of the old one. Kahikolu means "three in one" in the
Hawaiian language
Hawaiian (', ) is a Polynesian language of the Austronesian language family that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language o ...
, which refers both to the
Holy Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...
of the Christian faith, but also that it was the third attempt to build a church here. The width of the old church became the length of the new one, resulting in a building about by , with walls thick.
Kahikolu took three years to build, and included a bell donated by
William E. Dodge of New York. It could hold a total of about 1200 people. Paris went on to build eight more churches (including
Hale Halawai O Holualoa
Hale Halawai O Holualoa is the former name of Living Stones Church located in the Kona District on the Big Island of Hawaii.
History
The name means "Meeting house near the long slide" in the Hawaiian Language.
There might have been a wooden chur ...
), and died in the area in 1892.
There are grave sites located on both sides of the church, some of which are unmarked. Several bear the name of "Kamakau", probably descendants of a chief Kelou Kamakau, born about 1773 who was mentioned in Ellis' journal as a good source of history.
Decline and restoration
In 1925 a layer of plaster was added to the inside walls, and the ceiling and floor replaced.
In 1929, an earthquake caused one of the gable ends to tumble into the church. They were replaced with horizontal wood strips. Once the largest church on the west side of the island, its influence declined as population moved to other areas.
On August 21, 1951, an earthquake with magnitude 6.9 was centered almost under the church. The roof collapsed after more earthquakes in 1952 and 1953. The stone church was abandoned in 1953 due to the damage.
Kahikolu church was added to the
on November 15, 1982 as site 82000148, and the state list as site 10-47-7215 on July 30, 1982. The only other stone church from this era on the island is
Mokuaikaua Church
Mokuaikaua Church, located on the "Big Island" of Hawaii, is the oldest Christian church in the Hawaiian Islands. The congregation dates to 1820 and the building was completed in 1837.
History
The congregation was first founded in 1820 by Asa ...
, about to the north.
P
A rebuilding effort lasted through the 1980s. Kahikolu Church restoration was completed around 1984.
In 1993, the body of one of the first
native Hawaiian
Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, First Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians) ( haw, kānaka, , , and ), are the indigenous ethnic group of Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands.
Hawaii ...
s to become a Christian, Henry Ōpūkaha`ia', was reinterred at Kahikolu Church. Ōpūkaha`ia' is credited (or blamed, depending on the speaker's perspective) with starting Hawaii's conversion to Christianity and had travelled from Hawai'i's Big Island by way of Connecticut to Yale University in 1809 where he studied English and Christianity and planned to return to Hawaii himself to preach. He contracted
typhus
Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure.
...
fever and died in 1818 in Cornwall at the age of 26. `Ōpūkaha`ia's family decided to return his body from his grave in Connecticut to Hawaii. On Aug. 15, 1993, his remains were laid in a vault facing the sea at Kahikolu Church. It was the third church established in Hawaii by missionaries inspired by Opukahaʻia. Hawaii's churches observe the third Sunday in February as a day of commemoration in honor of its first Christian. A plaque at the Cornwall gravesite reads: "In July of 1993, the family of Henry Opukahaia took him home to Hawaii for interment at Kahikolu Congregational Church Cemetery, Napo'opo'o, Kona, Island of Hawaii. Henry's family expresses gratitude, appreciation and love to all who cared for and loved him throughout the past years. Ahahui O Opukahaia".
The church was finally restored and opened again for use in 1999. A historical marker was added in 2003.
The address of the congregation is 82-5931 Napo'opo'o Road, Captain Cook, Hawaii 96704. Sunday services are held at 9:30 AM with Sunday School at 8:30. The pastor (as of July 2011) is Wendell Davis. In November 2003, under the urging of pastor Davis, Kahikolu Congregational Church voted to disaffiliate from the
United Church of Christ
The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Calvinist, Lutheran, and Anabaptist traditions, and with approximately 4 ...
because of the UCC "open and affirming" ordination of practising gay and lesbian pastors. The members were considering leaving the UCC but have not actually done so as of 2013.
The variety of coffee Ruggles brought in 1828 thrived in the part of the island around Kealakekua, called the
Kona District
Kona is a ''moku'' or district on the Big Island of Hawaii in the State of Hawaii, known for its Kona coffee and the location of the Ironman World Championship Triathlon. In the current system of administration of Hawaii County, the ''moku'' ...
. Because it was the first coffee grown on the western side of the island, it is often referred to as the first
Kona coffee
Kona coffee is the market name for coffee ('' Coffea arabica'') cultivated on the slopes of Hualalai and Mauna Loa in the North and South Kona Districts of the Big Island of Hawaii. It is one of the most expensive coffees in the world. Only coff ...
, still popular today.
See also
*
Coffee production in Hawaii
Hawaii is one of the few U.S. states where coffee production is a significant economic industry – coffee is the second largest crop produced there. The 2019–2020 coffee harvest in Hawaii was valued at $102.9 million. As of the 2019-2020 harvest ...
*
List of Missionaries to Hawaii
This is a list of missionaries to Hawaii. Before European exploration, the Hawaiian religion was brought from Tahiti by Paʻao according to oral tradition. Notable missionaries with written records below are generally Christian.
Protestant Amer ...
References
Further reading
{{Christianity in Hawaii
Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Hawaii
Churches completed in 1855
19th-century churches in the United States
Religious buildings and structures in Hawaii County, Hawaii
Churches in Hawaii
Former United Church of Christ churches
United Church of Christ churches in Hawaii
1824 establishments in Hawaii
National Register of Historic Places in Hawaii County, Hawaii
Former churches in Hawaii