Founding year: the first Hilo post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Hilo’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hilo is more historic than 35% of U.S. towns, #19 of 93 in Hawaii. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hilo’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 Hilo’s 4.8 sits above most of its state (80% of Hawaii towns have fewer) while its 24 historic buildings outnumber those of 80% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B. The pre-1940 share (±1.2 points) is firm at this size. 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 Hilo’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Around 1100 AD, the first Hilo inhabitants arrived, bringing with them Polynesian knowledge and traditions. Although archaeological evidence is scant, oral history has many references to people living in Hilo, along the Wailuku and Wailoa rivers during the time of ancient Hawaiʻi. Oral history gives the meaning of Hilo as "to twist".
Originally, the name "Hilo" applied to a district encompassing much of the east coast of the island of Hawaiʻi, now divided into the District of South Hilo and the District of North Hilo. When William Ellis visited in 1823, the main settlement there was Waiākea on the south shore of Hilo Bay. Missionaries came to the district in the early-to-middle 19th century, founding Haili Church.
The Hilo post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Hilo rank for history?
Hilo is more historic than 35% of U.S. towns, #19 of 93 in Hawaii. 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 Hilo?
17 listings: 17 buildings, among them the U.S. Post Office and Office Building (listed 1974, the first). 24 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Hilo?
5% of Hilo’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.2 points), against a typical 1.7% for a Hawaii town; the median home was built in 1978.
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 Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (17), 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.
1825
c. 1837
1853