Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Hana

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Hana

Hana’s post office opened in 1900, and 3 of its places are on the National Register

Most of Hana was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1993. Below: maps from 1957 on.

1900first post office
3on the National Register
1%homes built before 1940
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Hana began

When was Hana founded?

1900

The Hana post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 1,526126 years
Founding year: the first Hana post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Hana’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Hana are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.A National Historic Landmark3 places on the National Register, including Piilanihale Heiau, a National Historic Landmark.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hana’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hana’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

3 historic places in Hana

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmark
1
Piilanihale Heiau
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1966
Piilanihale Heiau
Wananalua Congregational ChurchHana District Police Station and CourthousePiilanihale Heiau★
BuildingsStructures★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Late 19th Century Revivals1
Renaissance1
★ Landmark
Piilanihale HeiauStructure
Wananalua Congregational ChurchLate 19th Century Revivals
All 3 listings
Hana District Police Station and CourthouseBuilding · listed 1991

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

The story

How Hana came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Hana.

Read it all →

Like most of Hawaii, Hāna was probably first settled between 500 and 800 AD by Polynesian peoples.

The first sugarcane plantation in the area was established by George Wilfong in 1849, and by 1883 there were six plantations operating in the area. By 1946, however, the last sugarcane plantation had closed, leading plantation workers to move mostly to the west side of Maui. That same year saw the opening of the Kaʻuiki Inn, later known as the Hotel Travaasa – Hana and today as the Hyatt Hana-Maui Resort, which helped transition the economy towards tourism.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Hana, 1778 to 1964

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 18th century
  2. 1778Born hereKalākua Kaheiheimālie is born here
  3. 19th century
  4. 1893Born hereFlora Kaai Hayes is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1900Post officeThe Hana post office opens
  7. 1919Born hereIsabella Abbott is born here
  8. 1943Born hereCharmaine Tavares is born here
  9. 1957On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1964LandmarkPiilanihale Heiau named a National Historic Landmark
By decade

Hana, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Wananalua Congregational Church2023Wananalua Congregational ChurchWananalua Congregational Church2023Wananalua Congregational ChurchHistorical marker2023Historical markerBeachfront2023BeachfrontBeachfront2023BeachfrontBeachfront2023Beachfront
On the map

Hana on the map, 1957 to 1992

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Hana. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Hana on the 1957 USGS mapHana on the 1978 USGS mapHana on the 1983 USGS mapHana on the 1992 USGS map1957Hana sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Hana.

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Hana

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Isabella AbbottHawaiian-American professor of botany, ethnobot… · b. 1919
Kalākua KaheiheimālieQueen consort of Kamehameha I; grandmother of K… · b. 1778
C
Charmaine TavaresAmerican mayor · b. 1943
Flora Kaai HayesHawaiian-American politician · b. 1893
Places that used to be

Old corners

Hana’s post office has been open since 1900.

Hamlets and corners on the map
HānaKaʻelekūOloewa

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Hana’s history

What year was Hana founded?

The Hana post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Hana?

Three places: the Piilanihale Heiau (listed 1966), the Wananalua Congregational Church (1988) and the Hana District Police Station and Courthouse (1991).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From the Library of Congress (6), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.