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C−History
History · Kekaha

Kekaha’s post office opened in 1900, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 22% of U.S. towns · #37 of 93 in Hawaii. What drives it

Below: maps from 1963 on.

1900first post office
0on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Polihale at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Kekaha began

When was Kekaha founded?

1900

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

2020 census: 3,715126 years

How historic is Kekaha?

C−

More historic than 22% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Kekaha post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Kekaha’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Kekaha is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns, #37 of 93 in Hawaii. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Kekaha’s overall grade.
Founding era1900, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 194014.2% of homes (±5.5) · typical HI town 1.7% · U.S. 8.4%BNational 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 22%
NewerOlder
Hawaii towns of 2,500+ (93)Ahead of 61%

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 Kekaha’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 (±5.5 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 Kekaha’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 Kekaha are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Kekaha’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Kekaha’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 Kekaha came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Kekaha.

Read it all →

By 1884 a sugar mill (later the Kekaha Sugar Mill) was operating within Kekaha. The mill was jointly owned by Otto Isenberg, Carl Isenberg, Paul Isenberg, Albert Wilcox, G. N. Wilcox, and S. M. Wilcox. By 1898, the Kekaha Sugar Mill Company was merged with other local interests to form the Kekaha Sugar Company.

The sugar mill had a major influence in Kekaha's development, including banking, employment, transportation, housing and utilities such as water and electricity. The mill employed several generations of local families. It closed in 2000 when the entire sugar industry in Hawaiʻi collapsed. The mill was purchased in 2005 by mainland investors who sold off its heavy machinery to other mills as far away as Africa.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Kekaha, 1900 to 1963

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1900Post officeThe Kekaha post office opens
  3. 1959Born hereKani Kauahi is born here
  4. 1963On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Kekaha, decade by decade

Today6 recent
US Navy 120210-N-YU572-078 Sailors from the Pacific Missile Range Facility participate in the Hukilau Hula during the c…2010US Navy 120210-N-YU572-078 Sailors from the Pacific M…US Navy 101117-N-0535P-001 Electronics Technician 2nd Class Shiloh Stieber, assigned to the Pacific Missile Range Facil…2010US Navy 101117-N-0535P-001 Electronics Technician 2nd…US Navy 091021-N-0535P-062 Electronics Technician 2nd Class Shiloh Stieber, assigned to Pacific Missile Range Facility,…2009US Navy 091021-N-0535P-062 Electronics Technician 2nd…US Navy 090513-N-0535P-032 KEKAHA, Hawaii (May 13, 2009) - Capt. Aaron Cudnohufsky, left, commanding officer of the Pac…2009US Navy 090513-N-0535P-032 KEKAHA, Hawaii (May 13, 20…St. Theresa Catholic Church, Kekaha, Kauai, Hawaii2009St. Theresa Catholic Church, Kekaha, Kauai, HawaiiUS Navy 081119-N-0535P-086 ngineman 2nd Class Alfonzo Gomez, left, and Boatswain's Mate 2nd Class Francisco Hernden bot…2008US Navy 081119-N-0535P-086 ngineman 2nd Class Alfonzo…
On the map

Kekaha on the map, 1963 to 1983

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

Kekaha on the 1963 USGS mapKekaha on the 1983 USGS map1963Kekaha 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 Kekaha.

Places that used to be

Old burying grounds

Kekaha’s post office has been open since 1900.

4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Kekaha
HawaiianKekaha PublicPark Hook Tong ChineseWaimea Japanese

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.

Waimea6 historic placesB−

Questions about Kekaha’s history

What year was Kekaha founded?

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

How does Kekaha rank for history?

Kekaha is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns, #37 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 Kekaha?

14% of Kekaha’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.5 points), against a typical 1.7% for a Hawaii town; the median home was built in 1975.

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), 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.