Editor’s note: West Hawaii Today, in conjunction with the Kona Historical Society, is pleased to present readers a weekly feature compiled by the society called “A Guide to Old Kona.” These articles and accompanying photographs have been compiled and provided by Kona Historical Society and were published previously in a book of the same title.
Editor’s note: West Hawaii Today, in conjunction with the Kona Historical Society, is pleased to present readers a weekly feature compiled by the society called “A Guide to Old Kona.” These articles and accompanying photographs have been compiled and provided by Kona Historical Society and were published previously in a book of the same title.
Kiholo
At the close of the 20th century, Kiholo remained a green oasis along a stark and blackened coast. Threatened and then almost completely destroyed by volcanic eruptions in the past century, little remains today of the once important settlement.
In 1801, the village of Kiholo escaped destruction when lava from nearby Hualalai entered the sea just south of Kiholo’s famous fishpond. A jet black river of basalt, clearly visible nearly 200 years later (park at the scenic overlook at mile marker 82 on Queen Kaahumanu Highway, Highway 19), illustrates that historic lucky break. In 1859, however, Kiholo was not so fortunate. A flood of lava from Mauna Loa, visible today on the northern edge of the bay, transformed Kiholo from a former residence of chiefs to a sparsely populated fishing village.
Once the site of one of Kona’s largest fishponds, Kiholo played an important role in the success of Kamehameha the Great’s armies. Vast numbers of coastal mullet were harvested at Kiholo fishpond to feed his warriors. Without this dependable food supply, his ambitious plans to conquer the entire island of Hawaii and, later, all the Hawaiian Islands, might have failed.
Before Kamehameha returned to Kona in 1812, after living with his court on Oahu for several years, he gave orders to have the fishpond at Kiholo repaired. It took the labor of thousands of people to carry the stones needed to rebuild the mighty walls. It is not known what chief first built Kiholo fishpond, but archaeological evidence indicates this man-made fishpond probably existed for hundreds of years before Kamehameha’s time.
During his circuit of the island of Hawaii in 1823, English missionary William Ellis visited Kiholo and noted:
“This village represents another monument to the genius of Tamehameha. A small bay, perhaps half a mile across, runs inland a considerable distance. From one side to the other of this bay, Tamehameha built a strong stone wall, six feet high in some places, and twenty feet wide, by which he had an excellent fish pond, not less than two miles in circumference. There were several arches on the wall, which were guarded by stakes driven into the ground so far apart as to admit water of the sea; yet sufficiently close to prevent the fish from escaping. It was well stocked with fish, and water-fowl were seen swimming on its surface.”
The flow of 1859 basically destroyed Kiholo. Salt pans carved into the flat pahoehoe lava, remnants of trails and fallen stone walls remain to offer mute testimony of a once active Hawaiian community. After the eruptions, optimistic builders returned to Kiholo to erect a church, schoolhouse, and small store to serve the fishermen and their families who still called Kiholo home.
In the early 20th century, Kiholo became the port for Puuwaawaa Ranch, some 10 miles inland near Puuanahulu. Cattle were shipped from Kiholo to Honolulu until 1958. The construction of Queen Kaahumanu Highway in 1975 ended Kiholo’s former isolation and opened the door to residential development there.
Copyright 1998 Kona Historical Society. Reprinted by permission.