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OUR MISSION
At the Kaua‘i Historical Society, we're bringing history to life. Our mission is to collect, preserve, and disseminate the oral, written and pictorial history of Kaua‘i County; to protect and preserve historic sites; and to educate ourselves and the public about the history and cultures of Kaua‘i and Ni‘ihau.
The Society's vast collection, available by appointment for use, is located in its home at the centrally located historic Kaua‘i County Building in Lihu‘e.
The collection includes 12,000-plus photographs; 3,200 maps; plantation records; The Garden Island newspaper, 1911 to present; 25 cabinet drawers of subject files; 4,500 books; personal papers from local families and organizations; and the Guslander Coco Palms Museum collection. We're digitizing the collection to make it easier for you to use.
OUR OFFERING
Kaua‘i is visually stunning. From the crowning coast of the North Shore, where jungly, green-velvet pinnacles thrust from sapphire, aquamarine and turquoise seas, to the sere beaches of the West side, where spirits leap into the next world, the landscape of this garden island never ceases to amaze.
From point A to point Z, The Kaua‘i Historical Society has information that brings sites and legends of Kaua‘i to life.
The prehistory of Kaua‘i and Ni‘ihau is written in stoneworks and taro terraces. It's unearthed in natural history treasures such as root casts and bird fossils eroding out of lithified sand dunes, and in excavated sites that yield dog-bone fish hooks, coral abraders and chisels made of basalt flake.
Anthropology and Archaeology come to life in the 25 cabinet drawers of files and over 4,500 volumes at The Kaua‘i Historical Society.
In early post-western contact times, missionary families corresponded among themselves, opening a window onto the joys and sorrows, the triumphs and struggles of their lives on Kaua‘i. People drew up deeds of land, drew maps with roads and trails long gone, and sat for formal portraits.
Personal papers from local families and organizations, over 2,200 maps, drawings and plantation records and over 4,000 photographs bring history to life in the collections of the Kaua‘i Historical Society.
WHAT WE DO
• Established in 1914 to preserve Kaua‘i's sacred places, the Society advocated early on for the preservation of the Hawaiian language.
• We were instrumental in preserving the heiau sites of Wailua, the caves at Ha‘ena, the Menehune ditch at Waimea, the ‘Alekoko Fishpond at Niumalu, the original Koloa sugar mill and the Russian Fort in Waimea.
• We helped found the Koke‘e Natural History Museum and the Kaua‘i Museum.
• Our programs include the Kaua‘i History Lecture Series; dune walks at the Hyatt-Regency Kaua‘i highlighting natural history; the Kapa‘a History Tour and other tours of archaeological, historical and cultural sites.
OUR ADDRESS
Our Physical address is:
Historic County Building
4396 Rice Street
Suite 101
Lihue, HI 96766
Kaua‘i Historical Society
P.O. Box 1778, Lihu‘e, HI 96766
Telephone: (808) 245-3373
Fax: (808) 245-8693
Email: info@kauaihistoricalsociety.org
SUPPORT THE KAUA‘I HISTORICAL SOCIETY!
The nonprofit 501 (c) Kaua‘i Historical Society is a membership organization open to all interested persons. Click here for more info.
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