Haiku Mill
Encyclopedia
The Haikū Sugar Mill was a processing factory for sugarcane
from 1861 to 1879 on the island of Maui
in Hawaii
.
.
The Haiku Sugar Company was chartered on November 20, 1858 by the Kingdom of Hawaii
. It was one of the first ten companies to go into the sugar business in the Hawaiian Islands
. The investors, the Castle & Cooke
partnership, contracted with Isaac Adams of Boston and D. M. Weston for a milling machine and boiling house with total cost of US$12,000. The first crop was processed in December 1861. In 1871 Samuel T. Alexander became manager of the mill. He formed Alexander & Baldwin
with his partner Henry Perrine Baldwin
, and organized an irrigation system from 1876 to 1878 that allowed more steady crops to be grown in more leeward areas of the island. This mill was abandoned in 1879.
In 1881 Kahului railroad allowed cane to be carried to larger mills near the town of Kahului. In 1905 the Haiku plantation merged with another to become Maui Agricultural Company, and later became the Hawaiian Commercial and Sugar Company division of Alexander & Baldwin with one remaining mill at Puunene. The Haikū area later became a pineapple
plantation. The former cannery at 810 Haiku Road is now a shopping center called the Haiku Marketplace.
Only the walls of the mill were left standing when it was added to the National Register of Historic Places listings in Hawaii on February 6, 1986 as site 86000189. It is state historic site 50-046-1622. The owner Sylvia Hamilton Kerr left the roof open, but decorated the inside to be used as a photo location and wedding site. It was used for one of the 2008 models in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue
.
The mill is located at 250 Haiku Road, 20°55′32"N 156°19′44"W.
The home of the Haiku plantation doctor is now a bed and breakfast
hotel.
Sugarcane
Sugarcane refers to any of six to 37 species of tall perennial grasses of the genus Saccharum . Native to the warm temperate to tropical regions of South Asia, they have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar, and measure two to six metres tall...
from 1861 to 1879 on the island of Maui
Maui
The island of Maui is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands at and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is part of the state of Hawaii and is the largest of Maui County's four islands, bigger than Lānai, Kahoolawe, and Molokai. In 2010, Maui had a population of 144,444,...
in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
.
History
The northeastern coast of Maui had a small village named Hai kū which literally means "sharp break" in the Hawaiian languageHawaiian language
The Hawaiian language is a Polynesian language 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 of the state of Hawaii...
.
The Haiku Sugar Company was chartered on November 20, 1858 by the Kingdom of Hawaii
Kingdom of Hawaii
The Kingdom of Hawaii was established during the years 1795 to 1810 with the subjugation of the smaller independent chiefdoms of Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lānai, Kauai and Niihau by the chiefdom of Hawaii into one unified government...
. It was one of the first ten companies to go into the sugar business in the Hawaiian Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
. The investors, the Castle & Cooke
Castle & Cooke
Castle & Cooke, Inc. is a Los Angeles-based company that was once part of the Big Five companies in territorial Hawaii. The company at one time did most of its business in agriculture...
partnership, contracted with Isaac Adams of Boston and D. M. Weston for a milling machine and boiling house with total cost of US$12,000. The first crop was processed in December 1861. In 1871 Samuel T. Alexander became manager of the mill. He formed Alexander & Baldwin
Alexander & Baldwin
Following World War II, the company entered a new business: land development and real estate. The company formed a new subsidiary, the Kahului Development Co., to develop housing in the Kahului area. In the following years, the company became more involved in the development of its land and the...
with his partner Henry Perrine Baldwin
Henry Perrine Baldwin
Henry Perrine Baldwin was a businessman and politician on Maui in the Hawaiian islands. He supervised the construction of the East Maui Irrigation System and co-founded Alexander & Baldwin, one of the "Big Five" corporations that dominated the economy of the Territory of Hawaii.-Life:Henry Perrine...
, and organized an irrigation system from 1876 to 1878 that allowed more steady crops to be grown in more leeward areas of the island. This mill was abandoned in 1879.
In 1881 Kahului railroad allowed cane to be carried to larger mills near the town of Kahului. In 1905 the Haiku plantation merged with another to become Maui Agricultural Company, and later became the Hawaiian Commercial and Sugar Company division of Alexander & Baldwin with one remaining mill at Puunene. The Haikū area later became a pineapple
Pineapple
Pineapple is the common name for a tropical plant and its edible fruit, which is actually a multiple fruit consisting of coalesced berries. It was given the name pineapple due to its resemblance to a pine cone. The pineapple is by far the most economically important plant in the Bromeliaceae...
plantation. The former cannery at 810 Haiku Road is now a shopping center called the Haiku Marketplace.
Only the walls of the mill were left standing when it was added to the National Register of Historic Places listings in Hawaii on February 6, 1986 as site 86000189. It is state historic site 50-046-1622. The owner Sylvia Hamilton Kerr left the roof open, but decorated the inside to be used as a photo location and wedding site. It was used for one of the 2008 models in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue
The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue is published annually by Sports Illustrated. It features fashion models wearing swimwear in exotic locales. According to some, the magazine is the arbiter of supermodel succession. In addition, the issue is a media nexus that in 2005 carried in advertising....
.
The mill is located at 250 Haiku Road, 20°55′32"N 156°19′44"W.
The home of the Haiku plantation doctor is now a bed and breakfast
Bed and breakfast
A bed and breakfast is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast, but usually does not offer other meals. Since the 1980s, the meaning of the term has also extended to include accommodations that are also known as "self-catering" establishments...
hotel.