Kaūpūlehu is the site of a historic settlement on the west coast of

Hawaii island 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 t ...

, the largest of the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kur ...

. Devastated by a lava flow, the area is now the home of luxury hotels such as the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai. Hualālai 1996

Geography

Kaūpūlehu is located at in the northern part of 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'' o ...

. The name comes from ''Ka ulu pūlehu'' which means "the roasted

breadfruit Breadfruit (''Artocarpus altilis'') is a species of flowering tree in the mulberry and jackfruit family (Moraceae) believed to be a domesticated descendant of ''Artocarpus camansi'' originating in New Guinea, the Maluku Islands, and the Philippi ...

" 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 ...

. Access is from the lower Hawaii Belt Road, known as Route 19 or Queen Kaahumanu Highway. In 1800, the volcano

Hualālai Hualālai (pronounced in Hawaiian) is an active volcano on the island of Hawaii in the Hawaiian Islands. It is the westernmost, third-youngest and the third-most active of the five volcanoes that form the island of Hawaii, following Kīlauea a ...

erupted and the resulting lava flow reached the sea near Kaūpūlehu. Oral histories tell of a bay and fishponds that were destroyed. The flow is named after Kaūpūlehu. The crater on the side of Hualālai resulting from the eruption is also given the name Kaūpūlehu, located at about elevation, .

Capture of the ''Fair American''

In 1790, local chief Kameeiamoku met Captain

Simon Metcalfe Simon Metcalfe (also spelled Metcalf) (c. 1741 – 1794) was a British-born American surveyor and one of the first American maritime fur traders to visit the Pacific Northwest coast. As early visitors to the Hawaiian Islands in 1789, Metcalfe and ...

on the ''Eleanora'' who was spending the winter during a

maritime fur trading The maritime fur trade was a ship-based fur trade system that focused on acquiring furs of sea otters and other animals from the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast and natives of Alaska. The furs were mostly sold in China in exc ...

mission. Something he did must have offended Metcalfe, who had Kameeiamoku flogged. This was to have severe consequences later. The ''Eleanora'' then sailed north to the island of

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 ...

to trade and resupply. In retribution for stealing a boat and killing a watchman, Metcalfe fired his cannon at the villagers of

Olowalu Olowalu is a community on the west side of the island of Maui in the state of Hawaii. It is located about south of Lahaina on the Honoapiilani Highway. It is a census-designated place (CDP), with a population at the 2020 census of 100. It sust ...

, killing and injuring hundreds. About five or six weeks later the ''Eleanoras smaller tender , a

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

under command of his son

Thomas Humphrey Metcalfe Thomas Humphrey Metcalfe (also spelled Metcalf) ( – March 16, 1790) was an American maritime fur trader who worked with his father, Simon Metcalfe. After being separated from his father in a storm, Thomas sailed a small schooner with a crew of f ...

arrived.Ralph S. Kuykendall, ''The Hawaiian Kingdom '' The Metcalfes had earlier agreed to rendezvous at Kealakekua Bay. Kameeiamoku was waiting for his revenge. The schooner's small crew of five were easily overwhelmed. Four were killed, including Thomas Metcalfe. The lone survivor was Isaac Davis. When King Kamehameha I found out about the incident another sailor,

John Young John Young may refer to: Academics * John Young (professor of Greek) (died 1820), Scottish professor of Greek at the University of Glasgow * John C. Young (college president) (1803–1857), American educator, pastor, and president of Centre Coll ...

, was captured by Kamehameha's men when he set ashore from the ''Eleanora'' to inquire about the ''Fair American''."Boatswain John Young – his adventures in Hawaii recalled
published February 14, 1886, New York Times archive Kamehameha decided to spare the lives of Davis and Young, who became valued military advisors during his subsequent battles and negotiations with later visitors. The muskets of the ''Fair American'' were salvaged and the schooner refloated. The ''Fair American'', with its cannons operated by Davis and Young, led to the victory in the

Battle of Kepaniwai The Battle of Kepaniwai ("Battle of the Dammed Waters of ʻĪao" or Kaʻuwaʻupali, "Battle of the Clawed Cliffs") was fought in 1790 between the islands of Hawaiʻi and Maui. The forces of Hawaiʻi were led by Kamehameha I, while the forces of ...

back on Maui, and the eventual conquest of all the islands. Simon Metcalfe eventually left the island, not realizing that he had indirectly caused his own son's death.

Kona village

The area was fairly uninhabited until Texas investor John H. Jackson constructed his Kona Village Resort in 1961. At first all equipment came in by boat, and then a small airstrip was built. Instead of the typical concrete tower, traditional island architecture was used in individual houses. The airstrip is now used as a heliport.

Four Seasons Resort Hualalai

The

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

-based Four Seasons chain opened a resort in 1996 at Kaūpūlehu. The resort makes use of natural materials indigenous to Hawaii, including

rattan Rattan, also spelled ratan, is the name for roughly 600 species of Old World climbing palms belonging to subfamily Calamoideae. The greatest diversity of rattan palm species and genera are in the closed-canopy old-growth tropical forests of ...

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...

and

lava rock Volcanic rock (often shortened to volcanics in scientific contexts) is a rock formed from lava erupted from a volcano. In other words, it differs from other igneous rock by being of volcanic origin. Like all rock types, the concept of volcanic r ...

. It was among the 100 of '' Travel + Leisure's'' world's best resorts awards in a readers poll in 2007, 2008, and 2009, and ranked in several "top lists" by

Zagat Survey The ''Zagat Survey'', commonly referred to as Zagat (stylized in all caps; , ) and established by Tim and Nina Zagat in 1979, is an organization which collects and correlates the ratings of restaurants by diners. For their first guide, covering ...

s. ''

Condé Nast Traveler ''Condé Nast Traveler'' is a luxury and lifestyle travel magazine published by Condé Nast. The magazine has won 25 National Magazine Awards. The Condé Nast unit of Advance Publications purchased ''Signature'', a magazine for Diners Club memb ...

'' placed the resort on their "Gold list" for best resorts since 2005. Four Seasons Resort Hualalai was one of only three

AAA AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to: Airports * Anaa Airport in French Polynesia (IATA airport code AAA) * Logan County Airport (Illinois) (FAA airport code AAA) Arts, entertainment, and me ...

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winning hotels in

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 ...

. A par-72 18-hole golf course was designed by

Jack Nicklaus Jack William Nicklaus (born January 21, 1940), nicknamed The Golden Bear, is a retired American professional golfer and List of golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest go ...

. ''

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'' ranked the course one of the best in

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to play in 2002 and it annually hosts the

Champions Tour PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior PGA Tour and the Champions Tour) is a men's professional senior golf tour, administered as a branch of the PGA Tour. History and format The Senior PGA Championship, founded in 1937, was for many years ...

's Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai. Other amenities include spa services, five pools, and fitness facilities. Alan Wong had a restaurant at the resort from 2003 to 2008.

Kūkio

In 1999 another golf course and expensive vacation home development was built to the south called Kūkio, and then expanded to the north in 2007. The original developer was the Discovery Land Company. The Kona Shuttle is a private membership-based airline which operates weekly flights to the resorts at Kaūpūlehu. Kona Shuttle flights are presently largely provided by

KaiserAir KaiserAir is a Charter Airline and FBO located in several Bay Area locations, Oakland International Airport and Sonoma County Airport. KaiserAir operates a fleet of charter aircraft and a FAA certified airline (which consist of three Boeing 737's). ...

. In the Hawaiian Language ''Kū kio'' means "small pool of water". Fishing is controlled in the area.

References