Editing Lahaina, Hawaii (section)

== History ==

=== Name ===

Both ''Lahaina'' and ''Lāhainā'' are correct orthography in modern Hawaiian<ref>[https://files.hawaii.gov/dbedt/op/gis/bgn/placenames/HBGN%20-%20Maui%20-%20Official%20May%202018.pdf]</ref>

==== Modern name, etymology and pronunciations ====
Protestant missionaries sent by the [[American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions]] (ABCFM) began organizing a way to write the Hawaiian language with English letters between 1820–1826 after they reached Hawaii.{{sfn|Schütz|1995|pp=98–133}}{{sfn|Tracy|1842|pp=122-123}}

{{blockquote|"The long English sound of i is represented by ai, as in Lahaina, where the second syllable is accented, and pronounced like the English word high".{{sfn|Tracy|1842|p=123}}}}

According to ''Thrums Hawaiian Annual'' of 1921 the proper pronunciation of Lahaina is La-hai-ná.{{sfn|Thrum|1921|p=86}}

Lahaina has different pronunciations depending on how [[Diacritic|diacritical marks]] are applied.{{sfn|U.S., Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration and Hawaii Department of Transportation|1991|p=8}}

Lahaina is a combination of two Hawaiian words, “lā” which means sun, and “hainā” which means cruel. The varied spellings Lāhainā and Lahaina are commonly interchanged when written in modern English, although the traditional spelling “Lāhainā” is still considered proper.

==== Ancient names ====
Lahaina was originally called ''Lele'' in [[Hawaiian language|Hawaiian]]{{sfn|Fornander|1917|p= 484}} and was known for its [[breadfruit]] trees.{{sfn|U.S., Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration and Hawaii Department of Transportation|1991|pp=7-8}} ''Lele'' means jump or fly. [[Albert Pierce Taylor]] explains its relationship to the area as the "flying piece of ''kuleana'', that which sticks out from the sea".{{sfn|U.S., Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration and Hawaii Department of Transportation|1991|pp=7-8}}{{sfn|Taylor|1929|pp= 35-68}}

In 1915, James N.K. Keola, in an article in ''Mid-Pacific Magazine'' entitled "Old Lahaina", wrote: "Lahaina is said to have received its name from ''Lā'', the sun, and ''hainā'', merciless. A bald-headed chief who lived at Kauaula Valley, while going to and fro without a hat, felt annoyed at the effects of the scorching rays of the burning sun. He looked up and gazed into the heavens and cursed at the sun thus: ''He keu hoi keia o ka la haina!''" ("What a merciless sun!").{{sfn|Keola|1915|pp=571-575}} On July 13, 1920, the ''Star Bulletin'' published several theories on the name's origins that included the bald-headed chief legend, as well as theories that included the belief that the name goes back to 11th century as ''Laha aina'' (Proclaiming land).{{sfn|Thrum|1921|p=86}}

Other interpretations of the name include "day (of) sacrifice" and "day (of) explanation".{{sfn|Clark|1989|p=57}} Inez MacPhee Ashdown (1899–1992), historian and founder of Maui Historical Society, believed the name was ''Lahaʻaina'', meaning "land (of) prophecy", because of the number of ''[[kahuna]] nui'' (high priest) prophecies made there.{{sfn|U.S., Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration and Hawaii Department of Transportation|1991|pp=7-8}}

=== Early rulers ===
The first ''mōʻī'' or ''aliʻi nui'' (supreme ruler) of western Maui was [[Haho of Maui|Haho]], the son of [[Paumakua|Paumakua a huanuikalalailai]]. This line produced the subsequent rulers.{{sfn|Fornander|1880|pp=78–79}}

The name ''Lele'' was adopted during the reign of [[Kakaalaneo|Kakaʻalaneo]]. He held court there during joint rule with his brother [[Kakae]], while living on a hill called ''Kekaʻa''. They were the sons and heirs of [[Kaulahea I]]. Kakaʻalaneo first planted breadfruit trees while his son Kaululaʻau is credited with expelling ghosts from [[Lanai|Lānaʻi]] and putting the island under the rule of his father and uncle. Kakae's son [[Kahekili I]] succeeded his father and uncle as ruler. Kahekili I's successor was his son [[Kawaokaohele]], who was succeeded by his own son [[Piʻilani]]{{sfn|Fornander|1880|pages=82–87}}{{sfn|Beckwith|1970|p=884}}

Piʻilani was the first ruler of the entire island of Maui when he extended his sovereignty over East Maui. The aliʻi of Hāna district accepted him as supreme ruler. Piʻilani also controlled the neighboring islands of Lānaʻi, [[Kahoʻolawe]], and parts of [[Molokai|Molokaʻi]].{{sfn|Kirch|McCoy|2023|pp=100-101}}{{sfn|Fornander|1880|p=87}}

In 1738, Lahaina and most of West Maui were the sites of a series of battles between the forces of Kamehamehanui Aiʻluau with his uncle and ally [[Alapaʻi]], the ''ali‘i nui'' of Hawaii Island, against his half-brother Kauhiʻaimokuakama with his ally [[Peleʻioholani]], the ''ali‘i nui'' of Oʻahu. The war ended in a truce between Alapaʻi and Peleʻioholani and the capture and execution of Kauhiʻaimokuakama by drowning. The remains of the fallen soldiers from both sides are said to be buried in the sands of [[Kaanapali, Hawaii|Kāʻanapali]] district.{{sfn|Fornander|1880|pages=140–142, 214}}<ref name="Keola1913">{{cite news|last=Keola|first=James N. K.|title=Old Lahaina|work=The Mid-Pacific Magazine|volume=10|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0b4KAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA573|year=1913|publisher=T. H., A. H. Ford; [[Pan-Pacific Union]], Pan-Pacific Research Institution|location=Honolulu|oclc=45158315|pages=569–575|access-date=August 17, 2023|archive-date=August 31, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230831222258/https://books.google.com/books?id=0b4KAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA573|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Sterling1998">{{cite book |last1=Sterling |first1=Elspeth P. |title=Sites of Maui |date=1998 |publisher=Bishop Museum Press |location=Honolulu |isbn=978-0-930897-97-0|oclc=37608159 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=esxyAAAAMAAJ |language=en}}</ref>

=== Western contact ===
[[File:Carved wooden placque on base of Franz Otremba's replica of Kamehameha statue III.JPG|thumb|right|Depiction of Hawaiian warriors meeting Captain Cook off the coast of Lahaina]]
On November 26, 1778 [[Captain James Cook]]'s ships appeared near Maui while the island's monarch [[Kahekili II]] battled the forces of [[Kalaniʻōpuʻu]], the ''ali‘i nui'' of Hawaii Island. He did not land on the island but was greeted by the warriors of Kalaniʻōpuʻu including a young [[Kamehameha I]] in their war canoes.{{sfn|Kirch|2014|page=213}}{{sfn|Beaglehole|1992|page=638}} The base of the [[Statue of Kamehameha I (Honolulu)|Kamehameha statue]] in Honolulu depicts the warrior meeting Cook off the coast of Lahaina.{{sfn|Kamehiro|2009|page=92}}

==== Kahekili II ====
British explorer [[George Vancouver]] visited in 1793 and unsuccessfully attempted to mediate a peace between Kahekili and Kalaniʻōpuʻu's successor Kamehameha I. During his visit, he gave a description of the constant warfare on Lahaina:{{sfn|Fornander|1880|pages=250–253}}
<blockquote>The village of Raheina ... seemed to be pleasantly situated on a space of low or rather gently elevated land, in the midst of a grove of bread-fruit, cocoa-nut, and other trees...In the village the houses seemed to be numerous and to be well inhabited. A few of the natives visited the ships; these brought but little with them, and most of them were in very small miserable canoes. These circumstances strongly indicated their poverty, and proved what had been frequently asserted at Owhyhee, that Mowee and its neighbouring islands were reduced to great indigence by the wars in which for many years they had been engaged.{{sfn|Fornander|1880|pages=250–251}}</blockquote>

==== Kamehameha I and Kamehameha II ====
From 1802 to 1803, Kamehameha I stationed his large fleet of ''peleleu'' war-canoes in Lahaina. While there, he wrote to the last independent ruler of Kauaʻi, [[Kaumualiʻi]], asking him to acknowledge his overlordship. Although an invasion failed in 1804, Kaumualiʻi surrendered in 1810, uniting the Hawaiian Islands for the first time.{{sfn|Kuykendall|1965|pages=48–51}}{{sfn|Keola|1915|page=573}}{{sfn|Taylor|1929|page=40}} [[Kamehameha II]] resided in Lahaina from December 1819 until February 1820, when he returned to Honolulu.{{sfn|Keola|1915|page=573}}{{sfn|Taylor|1929|page=40}}

==== Christian missionaries ====
[[File:Wainee Church, ambrotype, c. 1855.jpg|thumb|View of [[Waiola Church]] and the island of [[Mokuʻula]] and Mokuhinia, {{circa|1855}}]]
[[File:Holy Innocents Church of Lahaina by Alan Gowans.tif|thumb|Exterior of Holy Innocents Church c. 1994. Photograph by [[Alan Gowans]]. [https://www.nga.gov/research/library/imagecollections/collections-from-scholars.html National Gallery of Art Library].]]
American Protestant missionaries from the ABCFM arrived in the Hawaiian Islands in 1820, setting up stations on Hawaiʻi, Oʻahu and Kauaʻi.{{sfn|Kuykendall|1965|pages=100–104}} However, the first mission station on [[Maui]] was not established until 1823 by Reverend Charles Stewart and [[William Richards (missionary)|William Richards]]. The two men and their family accompanied Queen [[Keōpūolani]], the wife of Kamehameha I, and her daughter Princess [[Nāhiʻenaʻena]] from Oʻahu to Lahaina. They were tasked with instructing the queen about [[Christianity]], to which Keōpūolani converted on her deathbed. The missionaries erected a temporary church made of wooden poles and a thatched roof.{{sfn|Williams|2013|pages=122–129}}<ref name="Apple1973">{{cite web |url= https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NHLS/66000302_text |title= Lahaina Historic District National Historical Landmark update |author= Russell A. Apple |date= December 21, 1973 |access-date= 2009-10-29 |archive-date= August 31, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230831222256/https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NHLS/66000302_text |url-status= live }}</ref> In 1824, at the chiefs' request, [[Betsey Stockton]] started the first mission school open to common people.{{sfn|Dodd|1984|pages=358–360}} Maui Governor [[Hoapili]] ordered the construction of a stone church. The cornerstone of the [[Waiola Church]] (originally named Ebenezera or Waineʻe Church) was laid on September 14, 1828.<ref name="Apple1973" />{{sfn|Williams|2013|pages=122–129}} In 1831, missionaries founded Lahainaluna Seminary (present-day [[Lahainaluna High School]]) where Hawaiian boys and young men (among them historian [[David Malo]]) were educated in the religion and in crafts such as carpentry, printing, engraving, and agriculture. The school published the first [[Hawaiian language]] newspaper in 1834. Teachers and students were instrumental in the translation of the [[Bible]] into Hawaiian.{{sfn|Taylor|1929|pages=52–54}}

==== Whaling ====
Lahaina was an important destination for 19th-century whalers who came to reprovision their ships with fresh water, fruit, potatoes and other vegetables. The town provided ample rest and recreation for their crew whose presence frequently led to conflicts with the local missionaries.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lahaina Harbor History |publisher=Hawaii Harbors Network |url=http://www.lahainaharbor.com/history.html |access-date=May 17, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170602020803/http://www.lahainaharbor.com/history.html |archive-date=June 2, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> On more than one occasion the conflict became so severe that sailors rioted. The British whaling ship {{ship||John Palmer|1807 ship|2}} in 1827 shelled Lahaina. In response, Governor Hoapili built the [[Lahaina Fort|Old Lahaina Fort]] in 1831 to protect the town from disorderly conduct of sailors.{{sfn|Busch|1993|pages=91–118<!-- Need to be  more specific about pages -->}}<ref>Maui Historical Society. (1971) [1961]. ''Lahaina Historical Guide''. Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle.</ref>

==== Kamehameha III ====
[[File:Lahaina, Maui, T.H. - Formerly the Capital - NARA - 296063.jpg|thumb|left|{{Circa|1903}}–1910]]
[[Kamehameha III]] resided in a traditional royal compound on the sacred island of [[Mokuʻula]] located on Mokuhinia lake in the middle of Lahaina from 1837 to 1845.{{sfn|Klieger|1998|page=ix}}{{sfn|Kam|2022|pages=38–40}} He built a two-story, Western-style palace in 1838 named Hale Piula, although it was not completed before the court moved.{{sfn|Kam|2022|pages=40–41}}{{sfn|Klieger|1998|page=84}} During his residence, Kamehameha III signed and proclaimed the first [[1840 Constitution of the Hawaiian Kingdom|Hawaiian constitution]] on October 8, 1840, at Luaʻehu, in Lahaina. The [[Legislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom|legislature]]'s first meeting was held on April 1, 1841, also at Luaʻehu.{{sfn|Kamakau|1992|pages=370, 398}}{{sfn|Spaulding|1930|pages=25–33}} With the growing commercial importance of Oʻahu, Kamehameha III moved the capital to [[Honolulu]] in 1845.<ref name="BartelsPW">{{cite web|last=Bartels|first=Jim|title=ʻIolani Palace|work=Pacific World|url=http://www.pacificworlds.com/nuuanu/native/native4.cfm|access-date=2010-04-07|archive-date=August 31, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230831222302/http://www.pacificworlds.com/nuuanu/native/native4.cfm|url-status=live}}</ref> Hale Piula was then transformed into a courthouse until it was heavily damaged in an 1858 storm. The following year, the [[Old Lahaina Courthouse]] was built as a replacement courthouse and customhouse at a site near the old fort.<ref name="Apple1973" />{{sfn|Kam|2022|pages=40–41}}
[[File:Banyan-tree-Lahaina-Hawaii.jpg|alt=The banyan tree in Courthouse Square is the largest banyan tree in the United States.|thumb|250x250px|Lahaina banyan tree]]
A [[Banyan tree in Lahaina|banyan tree]] (''[[Ficus benghalensis]]'') was planted near the site of Kamehameha I's first palace by [[William Owen Smith]] on April 24, 1873, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the arrival of Christian missionaries. It survived as the oldest banyan tree in the state.{{sfn|Clark|2001|page=23}}

==== 20th century ====
On January 1, 1919, a major fire destroyed more than thirty buildings in Lahaina before it was extinguished by residents.<ref name=hstad>{{cite news|first=Timothy|last=Hurley|title=Lahaina's historic and cultural treasures go up in smoke|url=https://www.staradvertiser.com/2023/08/10/hawaii-news/lahainas-historic-and-cultural-treasures-go-up-in-smoke/|work=[[Honolulu Star-Advertiser]]|publisher=|date=2023-08-10|access-date=2023-08-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230810152148/https://www.staradvertiser.com/2023/08/10/hawaii-news/lahainas-historic-and-cultural-treasures-go-up-in-smoke/|archive-date=2023-08-10 |url-status=live}}</ref> The 1919 fire led to the creation of the island-wide Maui Fire Department and adoption of fire safety standards.<ref name=hstad/>

===21st century===
{{Further|2023 Hawaii wildfires}}
[[File:Us-civil-patrol countyofmaui lahainaoverview.jpg|thumb|A view of the town after the August 2023 wildfire]]
Over August 8–9, 2023, much of Lahaina was destroyed by [[2023 Hawaii wildfires|a wildfire]] amid dry and windy conditions exacerbated by [[Hurricane Dora (2023)|Hurricane Dora]], with 102 fatalities occurring in the town.<ref name="hawaiinewsnew">{{Cite news |last= |first= |date=2023-08-09 |title=Much of historic Lahaina town believed destroyed as huge wildfire sends people fleeing into water |url=https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2023/08/09/coast-guard-joins-brush-fire-response-lahaina-where-crews-continue-battle-wind-whipped-flames/ |access-date=2023-08-09 |work=Hawaii News Now |language=en |archive-date=2023-08-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230809115033/https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2023/08/09/coast-guard-joins-brush-fire-response-lahaina-where-crews-continue-battle-wind-whipped-flames/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2024, [[Maui County, Hawaii|Maui County]] released plans for rebuilding the commercial district, infrastructure and affordable housing with a completion estimate of six years.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dowd |first=Eddie |date=2024-12-24 |title=Maui County releases long-term plans for Lahaina, including rebuilding of Front Street |url=https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2024/12/24/maui-county-releases-long-term-plans-lahaina-including-rebuilding-front-street/ |access-date=2025-01-29 |work=Hawaii News Now |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite press release |date=January 22, 2025 |title=Hale Mahaolu plans to redevelop Lahaina Surf and Front Street Apartments |url=https://mauinow.com/2025/01/22/hale-mahaolu-plans-to-redevelop-lahaina-surf-and-front-street-apartments/ |access-date=2025-01-29 |publisher=Hale Mahaolu |via=Maui Now}}</ref>