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Kīpahulu is an
unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
in the Hāna district of southeastern
Maui The island of Maui (; Hawaiian: ) is the second-largest of the islands of the state of Hawaii at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2) and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is the largest of Maui County's four islands, which ...
,
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 stat ...
.


Location and access

Kīpahulu is unincorporated and is located south of
Hana Hana or HANA may refer to: Places Europe * Haná, an ethnic region in Moravia, Czech Republic * Traianoupoli, Greece, called Hana during the Ottoman period * Hana, Norway, a borough in the city of Sandnes, Norway West Asia * Hana, Iran, a city ...
and east of
Kaupo Kaupō is a district of ancient Hawaii (''moku'' in the Hawaiian language) of Maui island in Hawaii. Kaupō is a remote, sparsely populated, sustainable ranching community. Geography Kaupō is located along the southeastern shore of Maui, west ...
. The only land access to the area is from the north by
Hana Highway The Hana Highway (colloquially referred to as The Road to Hana) is a stretch of Hawaii Routes 36 and 360 which connects Kahului to the town of Hana in east Maui. To the east of Kalepa Bridge, the highway continues to Kipahulu as Hawaii Route 3 ...
driving about 45 minutes past Hana or from west by highway 31 (Piilani Highway) which was reopened in 2008 after a nearly two-year closure due to earthquake damage. Piilani Highway is the only major road in Kīpahulu and all populated areas are located along this road. Kīpahulu does not have any electric or water utilities. The only public utility is the telephone. Water is obtained from the streams coming down from
Haleakalā Haleakalā (; Hawaiian: ), or the East Maui Volcano, is a massive shield volcano that forms more than 75% of the Hawaiian Island of Maui. The western 25% of the island is formed by another volcano, Mauna Kahalawai, also referred to as the West ...
and these services are provided to the community by private water systems.


History

The first written description of Kīpahulu was made by Jean-François de Galaup in 1786 while sailing along the southeast coast of Maui in search of a place to drop anchor:
I coasted along its shore at a distance of a
league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...
(three miles) …. We beheld water falling in cascades …. The inhabitants, which are so numerous that a space of 3–4 leagues may be taken for a single village. The huts are on the coast so that the habitable part of the island is less than one half of a league. After passing Kaupō no more waterfalls are seen, and villages are fewer.
Kīpahulu lowlands were once heavily populated. The area held hundreds of farm sites and agricultural terraces that could support hundreds of people. It was formerly the center of one of the old land districts (''moku''). In nearby coastal area surveys, over 700 archeological features have been found in the surveyed. The features consist of stone mounds and walls and earthen terraces. Coastal villages consisted of housing clusters for extended families (Hawaiian:
ohana is a Hawaiian term meaning "family" (in an extended sense of the term, including blood-related, adoptive or intentional). The term is cognate with Māori , meaning "nest". The root word refers to the root or corm of the , or taro plant (the ...
) and included living quarters, cook houses, and sheds used for work, storage, and canoes. More dwellings, used occasionally, were located farther upland throughout the cultivated area. All structures were single story, one room wood-frame buildings with thatched walls and roofs. Small stone shrines were associated with village sites. With the development of the whaling industry on the island in 1880s Kīpahulu population started to decline as people moved to main whaling ports like
Lahaina Lahaina ( haw, Lāhainā) is the largest census-designated place (CDP) in West Maui, Maui County, Hawaii, United States and includes the Kaanapali and Kapalua beach resorts. As of the 2020 census, the CDP had a resident population of 12,702. Laha ...
. In the early 1900s, one of the regular ports of call for the
Inter-Island Steam Navigation Company Inter-Island Steam Navigation Company was headquartered in Honolulu and ran steamship passenger and cargo service between the Hawaiian Islands from 1883 until 1947. Inter-Island constructed the Kona Inn in 1928, the first hotel in Kona on the B ...
was Kīpahulu. Steamships provided passenger service around Maui and between the islands. Kīpahulu Landing also provided a way for growers and ranchers to ship their goods to markets. Today the land where Kīpahulu Landing existed is private but protected by
The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in 1951, The Natu ...
.


Attractions

* Grave of the aviator
Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance o ...
who is buried on the grounds of Palapala Hoomau Church * Kīpahulu district of the
Haleakalā National Park Haleakalā National Park is an American national park located on the island of Maui in the state of Hawaii. Named after Haleakalā, a dormant volcano within its boundaries, the park covers an area of , of which is a wilderness area. The land wa ...
with seven pools in Oheo Gulch * Pipiwai hiking trail leading to Waimoku Falls


Haleakalā National Park

Haleakalā National Park Haleakalā National Park is an American national park located on the island of Maui in the state of Hawaii. Named after Haleakalā, a dormant volcano within its boundaries, the park covers an area of , of which is a wilderness area. The land wa ...
was established as a separate unit of the National Park System in 1960 (it was previously joined with Hawaii National Park on Hawaii Island). At the time, the park only consisted of the crater area of Haleakalā. On March 26, 1951, Kīpahulu Valley was added to Haleakalā National Park (HNP) as the Kīpahulu Biological Reserve to insure protection of endangered ecosystems within the sanctuary. Eighteen years later on January 10, 1969, the HNP boundaries were expanded to include the Kīpahulu coastal area of Oheo. Park History
/ref> Although access in the Kīpahulu Biological Reserve is strictly limited to researchers and managers, the Oheo region of the park is open for recreation. Attractions include the Oheo Pools, often called the "Seven Sacred Pools" (a name created by tourism proponents), a car-accessible campground, and several maintained trails, such as the four-mile Pipiwai Loop Trail to Waimoku waterfall. The Kīpahulu Ohana, a non-profit community organization established in 1995 through a co-operative agreement with Haleakalā National Park to revive, restore, and share the practices of traditional Native Hawaiian culture, also conducts community-based cultural tours in the area.


References


External links




Kīpahulu Ohana
{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Maui County, Hawaii Populated places on Maui Unincorporated communities in Hawaii