The Halaula post office opened in 1948, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Kohala (1900), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 77378 years
How historic is Halaula?
B−
More historic than 50% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Halaula post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Halaula’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Halaula is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Halaula’s overall grade.
Few Hawaii towns list much on the Register (a typical Hawaii town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Halaula’s 9.7 sits above most of its state (90% of Hawaii towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±31.8 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Halaula’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Halaʻula is within the Bond District, a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places. It includes the 19th century Bond House, also named Iole after its location and a part of the homestead of missionaries Ellen and Reverend Elias Bond. The nucleus of this rambling New England dwelling was built in 1840 by the Rev. Isaac Bliss who was assisted by a carpenter from Honolulu. First occupied in January 1841, it was of "native wood and plaster on stone foundation with a good cellar."
The Halaula post office opened in 1948, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Halaula rank for history?
Halaula is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Halaula?
One place: the Tong Wo Society Building (listed 1978).
How old are the homes in Halaula?
24% of Halaula’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±31.8 points), against a typical 1.7% for a Hawaii town; the median home was built in 1965.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
Date?
