Editing Waimea, Hawaii County, Hawaii (section)

==History==

===Native Hawaiian===
It is believed that the watershed area of the [[Kohala (mountain)|Kohala]] mountains once supported several thousand native Hawaiians, who practiced [[subsistence agriculture]], made [[kapa]], and [[Thatching|thatched]] dwellings. As the [[Europe]]ans arrived in the area, most of the sandalwood (''[[Santalum]] ellipticum'') forests were harvested and the land became ideal for grazing animals. California [[Texas Longhorn|longhorn cattle]] were given as a gift to Hawaiian [[King Kamehameha I]] by [[Kingdom of Great Britain|British]] [[Captain (Royal Navy)|Captain]] [[George Vancouver]] in 1793.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bergin |first=Billy  |title=Loyal to the Land: The Legendary Parker Ranch, 750-1950 |publisher=[[University of Hawaii Press]] |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-8248-2692-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iToXn2GGHpQC |page=21}}</ref> In 1809, [[John Palmer Parker (rancher)|John Palmer Parker]] arrived to the area after jumping ship and over time became employed by the king to hunt and tame the population of cattle, which at this point had grown out of control. In 1815 Parker married Kipikane, the daughter of a high-ranking chief, and as a family developed what is now [[Parker Ranch]], the largest ranch in the area.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-03-17 |title=Waimea (Kamuela) Big Island of Hawaii - Brief History |url=https://kamuela.com/history.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120317012347/https://kamuela.com/history.asp |archive-date=2012-03-17  |access-date=2022-09-11 }}</ref>

===Spanish===
The early 19th century also saw the arrival from the Viceroyalties of [[New Spain]] and [[Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata|Río de la Plata]] of the horse and [[Spain|Spanish]] ''[[vaquero]]s'' ("cowboys"), bringing the traditional Euro-Latin culture of riding and roping skills. The king hired these ''vaqueros'' to teach Hawaiians herding and ranching skills, and by 1836 the island had working cowboys. As the Hawaiian culture and Latin ''vaquero'' cultured commingled, a unique breed of cowboy emerged, the [[Cowboy#Hawai'i|''paniolo'']].<ref>{{Cite web |first=John |last=Fischer |url=http://gohawaii.about.com/od/bigisland/a/waimea_001a.htm |title=A Short Guide to Waimea on Hawaii's Big Island |archive-date=2012-02-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120216024633/http://gohawaii.about.com/od/bigisland/a/waimea_001a.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]).|date=July 2024}}

===World War II===
During [[World War II]], beef and vegetable prices increased, and farmers returned to cultivate [[maize|corn]], [[beet]]s, [[cabbage]] and a variety of other green vegetables. Farm and ranchland acreage increased from 75 in 1939 to 518 in 1946.<ref name="kamuela.com">{{Cite web |title=Waimea (Kamuela) Big Island of Hawaii - Brief History |url=http://www.kamuela.com/history.asp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170515214206/http://www.kamuela.com:80/history.asp |archive-date=15 May 2017 |website=kamuela.com}}</ref> Waimea saw many soldiers during this time, who were stationed at [[Camp Tarawa]]. When the war was over and the military had left, Waimea had an entertainment center, the [[Kahilu Theatre]], and an airstrip, [[Waimea-Kohala Airport]].