Puuwai (literally, ''"heart"'' in Hawaiian, ) 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 ...

Kauai County Kauai County ( haw, Kalana o Kauaʻi) (officially known as the County of Kauai) is a county in the U.S. state of Hawaii. It consists of the islands of Kauai, Niihau, Lehua, and Kaula. As of the 2020 Census the population was 73,298. The county ...

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 ...

, United States, and the only settlement on the island of

Niihau Niihau ( Hawaiian: ), anglicized as Niihau ( ), is the westernmost main and seventh largest inhabited island in Hawaii. It is southwest of Kauaʻi across the Kaulakahi Channel. Its area is . Several intermittent playa lakes provide wetland ha ...

. It is at the western coast of the small island, and Native Hawaiians who live in this village speak the Niihau dialect of the Hawaiian language. The community lives as they did hundreds of years ago, and the modern amenities of life are extremely limited. Access to the town, as well as the whole island, is limited to Niihau residents; only official visitors and invited guests are permitted. Puuwai has a

one-room school One-room schools, or schoolhouses, were commonplace throughout rural portions of various countries, including Prussia, Norway, Sweden, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Spain. In most rural and s ...

house. Niihau is located about west of Kauai. Puuwai is the westernmost community in the principal Hawaiian Islands.

References

Populated places on Niihau Unincorporated communities in Kauai County, Hawaii Unincorporated communities in Hawaii Road-inaccessible communities of the United States {{hawaii-geo-stub