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Sign for Exit 2 Kalaeloa Airport on Interstate H-1 WestboundPhoto: The Eloquent Peasant · CC BY-SA 4.0
C+History
History · Kalaeloa

1 of Kalaeloa’s places is on the National Register

More historic than 38% of U.S. towns · #15 of 93 in Hawaii. What drives it

Most of Kalaeloa was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. Below: maps from 1953 on and the census since 2000.

1on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: The Eloquent Peasant · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

About Kalaeloa’s history

How historic is Kalaeloa?

C+

More historic than 38% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Kalaeloa’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Kalaeloa is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns, #15 of 93 in Hawaii. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Kalaeloa’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19402.7% of homes (±2.7) · typical HI town 1.7% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register1 listing, 3.0 per 10,000 residents · typical HI town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 38%
NewerOlder
Hawaii towns of 2,500+ (93)Ahead of 85%

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 Kalaeloa’s 3.0 sits above most of its state (76% of Hawaii towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±2.7 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: our sources. 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 Kalaeloa’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 Kalaeloa are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Kalaeloa’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Kalaeloa’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
The story

How Kalaeloa came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Kalaeloa.

Read it all →

In October 1795, during a trading voyage to China, the ship, the Arthur arrived in Hawaiʻi led by Captain Henry Barber. He set sail for Kauaʻi after stopping for provisions at Waikiki. After passing the entrance to Pearl Harbor, the Arthur wrecked on a reef in high surf and was completely destroyed. Six crew members drowned, but Barber and the other fifteen members of his crew made it ashore in their small boats. The point where the wreck occurred was known thereafter as Barbers Point.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Kalaeloa, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Mass Casualty Chemical Incident Exercise during Vigilant Guard-Makani Pahili 2015 150606-Z-UW413-0712015Mass Casualty Chemical Incident Exercise during Vigil…Hawaii National Guard holds transfer of authority ceremony 150208-Z-VC646-0382015Hawaii National Guard holds transfer of authority cer…Hawaii National Guard holds transfer of authority ceremony 150208-Z-VC646-0322015Hawaii National Guard holds transfer of authority cer…Achyranthes splendens var. rotundata2007Achyranthes splendens var. rotundataAchyranthes splendens var. rotundata2007Achyranthes splendens var. rotundataUS Navy 040422-N-3019M-007 Master-at-Arms 3rd Class Adam Ellis, assigned to Pearl Harbor Security Detachment, uses a ch…2004US Navy 040422-N-3019M-007 Master-at-Arms 3rd Class A…
On the map

Kalaeloa on the map, 1953 to 1998

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

Kalaeloa on the 1953 USGS mapKalaeloa on the 1962 USGS mapKalaeloa on the 1977 USGS mapKalaeloa on the 1983 USGS mapKalaeloa on the 1998 USGS map1953Ewa 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 Kalaeloa.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Kalaeloa

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2016
Ewa Plain Battlefield
Ewa Plain Battlefield
Districts
All 1 listings
Ewa Plain BattlefieldDistrict · listed 2016

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

People over time

Kalaeloa, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,500200020202,364

Grew from 67 people in 2000 to 2,364 in 2020, more than tenfold.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Kalaeloa’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Kalaeloa

Nobody well known was born in Kalaeloa itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
David IgeGovernor of Hawaii from 2014 to 2022 · b. 1957
B
Brook LeeAmerican beauty queen, Miss Universe 1997 · b. 1971
B
Brian ViloriaAmerican boxer · b. 1980
James AionaHawaiian-American politician · b. 1955
T
Tom VillardAmerican actor · b. 1953
Tasya van ReeAmerican painter kai photographer · b. 1976
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Gone or out of use
Barbers Point Naval Air StationmilitaryBarbers Point Naval Air Station Post Officepost officeEwa Marine Corps Air Stationmilitary

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.

Ewa GentryIts storyD−Ocean PointeIts storyD−KapoleiIts storyD−Ewa VillagesIts storyC−

Questions about Kalaeloa’s history

How does Kalaeloa rank for history?

Kalaeloa is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns, #15 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 Kalaeloa?

One place: the Ewa Plain Battlefield (listed 2016).

How old are the homes in Kalaeloa?

3% of Kalaeloa’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.7 points), against a typical 1.7% for a Hawaii town; the median home was built in 1978.

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 Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.