History · Holualoa

Holualoa’s post office opened in 1900

More historic than 14% of U.S. towns · #55 of 93 in Hawaii. What drives it

Most of Holualoa was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1997. Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1928 on.

1900first post office

0on the National Register

6%homes built before 1940

1old photo or paper

3famous people

Add an old photo Share a memory

From Holualoa’s archive · credits on each photo

Quick answers

How Holualoa began

When was Holualoa founded?

1900

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

2020 census: 2,994126 years

How historic is Holualoa?

More historic than 14% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: the first Holualoa post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

History grade

What drives Holualoa’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Holualoa is more historic than 14% of U.S. towns, #55 of 93 in Hawaii. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Holualoa’s overall grade.

Founding era1900, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsD Homes built before 19406.4% of homes (±3.8) · typical HI town 1.7% · U.S. 8.4%C⁺National RegisterNo listings counted · typical HI town 0.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 14%

NewerOlder

Hawaii towns of 2,500+ (93)Ahead of 41%

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 Holualoa’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Hawaii towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.8 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 Holualoa’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Holualoa’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2 Retake an old viewAhu A 'Umi Heiau, On the plain east of …: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

The story so far

Holualoa, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Holualoa yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Hōlualoa (Hawaiian for 'long sled course') is a census-designated place (CDP) in the North Kona District of Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 8,538 at the 2010 census, up from 6,107 at the 2000 census. Hōlualoa's boundaries were altered significantly for the 2020 census. The western portion of the CDP near the coast became part of the neighboring Kailua-Kona CDP, while the eastern portion of Kailua-Kona became part of Hōlualoa. This reduced Holualoa's population to 2,994. Harold Sakata, best known for his portrayal of the villain Oddjob in the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger, was born here in 1920 as Toshiyuki Sakata. Sakata was also a medalist at the 1948 Summer Olym…

Its first post office opened in 1900. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 8,538 to 2,994 (-65%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Holualoa, 1828 to 1928

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

19th century
1828Born hereGeorge Washington Pilipō is born here
1851Born hereDavid Leleo Kinimaka is born here
20th century
1900Post officeThe Holualoa post office opens
1920Born hereHarold Sakata is born here
1928On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey

By decade

Holualoa, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date

Ahu A 'Umi Heiau, On the plain east of Hualalai Volcano

Date?Ahu A 'Umi Heiau, On the plain east of Hualalai Volca…

On the map

Holualoa on the map, 1928 to 1996

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

1928Kailua sheet · 1:62,500

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

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Retake this viewAhu A 'Umi Heiau, On the plain east of Hualalai Volcano

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Holualoa’s page.

Retake this view · +15

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Holualoa

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

See all →

Harold SakataAmerican sportsman and actor · b. 1920

David Leleo KinimakaHawaiian noble · b. 1851

George Washington PilipōHawaiian politician · b. 1828

Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Holualoa’s post office has been open since 1900.

Hamlets and corners on the map

Hōlualoa

1cemetery inside Holualoa

Keopu

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Kailua4 historic placesC⁻KalokoIts storyD⁻HonaloIts storyC Kaiminani2 historic placesC Kahaluu-Keauhou4 historic placesC⁺

Questions about Holualoa’s history

What year was Holualoa founded?

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

How does Holualoa rank for history?

Holualoa is more historic than 14% of U.S. towns, #55 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.

How old are the homes in Holualoa?

6% of Holualoa’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.8 points), against a typical 1.7% for a Hawaii town; the median home was built in 1997.

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).

From the Library of Congress (1), 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.

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