The Shipman family leased of land near the Kīlauea volcano in 1937 from the

Bernice Pauahi Bishop Estate Kamehameha Schools, formerly called Kamehameha Schools Bishop Estate (KSBE), is a private school system in Hawaii established by the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Estate, under the terms of the will of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, who was a formal membe ...

, which they called the Ainahou Ranch. The name ''aina hou'' means "new land". An older ranch called Keauhou (not to be confused with the community of

Keauhou Keauhou (also spelled Keauhoa or Keauhua) is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community on the island of Hawaii (island), Hawaii in Hawaii County, Hawaii, Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States. Its elevation is 13 feet (4 m). Beca ...

, on the western side of the island) had been established here in 1921, so a primitive trail existed, and the

Chain of Craters Road Chain of Craters Road is a long winding paved road through the East Rift and coastal area of the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the island of Hawaii, in the state of Hawaii, United States. The original road, built in 1928, connected Crater Ri ...

had recently been built within a few miles. Herbert C. Shipman built a house on the remote ranch in 1941 for the family as a refuge for the anticipated Japanese invasion of Hawaii. It was used as a working cattle ranch, raising beef for the military during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. After a tsunami in 1946 devastated the Puna Shipman property, killing half the endangered

nēnē The nene (''Branta sandvicensis''), also known as the nēnē or the Hawaiian goose, is a species of bird endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. The nene is exclusively found in the wild on the islands of Oahu, Maui, Kauai, Molokai, and Hawaii. In 195 ...

he was raising there, he built pens at Ainahou to continue raising them. After the war, it was estimated only about 30 birds existed in the wild. Herbert Shipman reintroduced two pairs to the

Pohakuloa Training Area Pōhakuloa Training Area (PTA) is a US military training base located on the high plateau between Mauna Loa, Mauna Kea and the Hualālai volcanic mountains of the island of Hawaii. It includes a small military airstrip known as Bradshaw Army Airfi ...

, and worked with British ornithologist

Peter Scott Sir Peter Markham Scott, (14 September 1909 – 29 August 1989) was a British ornithologist, conservationist, painter, naval officer, broadcaster and sportsman. The only child of Antarctic explorer Robert Falcon Scott, he took an interest in ...

to expand the breeding program to England, possibly saving the species from extinction. The Shipman family also kept many exotic plants at the ranch, including some of the first

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

s raised on the island. Herbert (president of the Hawaii Orchid Society) was awarded a gold medal in 1957 by the

American Orchid Society The American Orchid Society (AOS) is a horticultural society for education, conservation, and research of orchids. It was founded in 1921, and has an international membership. It is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. It has been called an "indus ...

for contributions to the industry. After being threatened by a lava flow in 1969, the house was evacuated. The family reached an agreement for the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

to purchase the land and house in 1971 to become part of

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park 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 ...

, under the authority of the

Endangered Species Act The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA or "The Act"; 16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq.) is the primary law in the United States for protecting imperiled species. Designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of ec ...

. Ainahou ranch was listed on the state register of historic places on December 5, 1973, as site 10-62-19429, and the

National Register of Historic Places listings on the island of Hawaii This is a list of properties and districts on the island of Hawaii in the U.S. state of Hawaii that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The island is coterminous with Hawaii County, the state's only county that covers exactly ...

on June 23, 1978, as site 78001013. and the

on February 8, 1995, as site 94001619.

References

{{commons category, Ainahou Ranch Houses completed in 1941 Houses in Hawaii County, Hawaii Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Hawaii National Register of Historic Places in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park Kīlauea