This article is about the US government’s acquisition of Puuloa Fort Site, which occurred in 1904.
United States District Attorney Breckons paid out nearly $80,000 yesterday to the owners of Puuloa, Pearl Harbor property. Titles passed from the Dowsett Estate which received over $65,000, and the remainder was distributed among Waterhouse, Lovekin, and three others.
The title of the following article, “Development of Pearl Harbor,” accurately describes its content. It was published in the Hawaiian Gazette in 1903.
Reefs and Shallows of Pearl Harbor Channels; Many Points that may be Dredged or Blasted Away Before Navigation Commences—Sharp Corners that Form Natural Protection
The following is an essay by a student on the history of Pearl Harbor entitled “An Essay on Acquisition of Pearl Harbor” and subtitled “Pearl Harbor. The history of its acquisition,” “Its location, appearance, and other characteristics,” and “An unorthodox view by a student.” This was published in the Independent over several issues in 1895.
The move by businessmen—many the children of missionaries, and others foreigners who had taken up residency in the Hawaiian Kingdom—to develop sugar plantations led to the movement toward reciprocity. The sugar growers sought a way to compete with sugar growers in the southern United States, and through the Reciprocity Treaty which took effect on September 9, 1876, the Hawai‘i sugar growers were able to export their sugar and rice crops with relief from taxation on foreign imports.
Pu‘uloa, the land area of Honouliuli, and the lochs of the harbor played a major role in Hawai‘i’s political history and eventual loss of sovereignty. The narratives under Related Documents below take readers through the decades of turmoil in development of sugar plantations, trade agreements, the “Reciprocity Treaty” (1875 & 1884), and eventual military control of Pearl Harbor and large tracts of Honouliuli Ahupua‘a by the United States.
Henry M. Whitney’s Tourists’ Guide Through the Hawaiian Islands [33] provides readers with an overview of sugar plantation development in Honouliuli and the larger ‘Ewa District in 1890. At the time of writing, the O‘ahu Railway & Land Company (OR&L Co.) had just opened with train service passing from Honolulu to the ‘Ewa Court House; remaining track routes to be laid shortly thereafter.
While ranching remained a part of Honouliuli’s history through the mid-twentieth century, the development of the Ewa Plantation Company took over as the major revenue generator, and source of the major changes on the land. Thousands of acres were cleared for sugar fields, work force populations were developed, housing and commercial interests grew, and traditional cultural resources were erased from the landscape. Sugar cultivation dominated Honouliuli Ahupua‘a through the 1970s.
The Great Land Colonization Scheme was headed by Benjamin F. Dillingham for lands at Kahuku, Waimea, Kawailoa, and Honouliuli. He formed a joint stock company called the Hawaiian Colonization Land and Trust Company. The company would purchase the lands, and divide and develop them for convenient purchase or lease [8:151–152]. The businessmen associated with the scheme are as follows:
Native Hawaiian historian Samuel M. Kamakau observed
The following account was entitled “Village Planned for Puuloa Peninsula.” In the fashion of the day, it carried several subtitles, including “Immense and promising scheme of the Dowsett estate,” “Arrangements for quiet retreat,” “To occupy a mile of land almost facing Pearl Harbor,” “Material for short railway arrives,” and “By Claudine—Handsome Boulevard—Branch railroad—boating, Fishing and other attractions.” Among the things planned for the village are a railway, a tree-shaded boulevard, and boating and bathing facilities.
