Lihue’s post office opened in 1900, and 6 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 33% of U.S. towns · #24 of 93 in Hawaii. What drives it
Most of Lihue was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. 6 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 18 buildings between them. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1963 on, and the census since 2000.
Founding year: the first Lihue post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Lihue’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lihue is more historic than 33% of U.S. towns, #24 of 93 in Hawaii. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lihue’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 Lihue’s 26.6 sits above most of its state (94% of Hawaii towns have fewer) while its 21 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 (±2.2 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 Lihue’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
In ancient times, Līhuʻe was a small village. Līhuʻe means "cold chill" in the Hawaiian language. Līhuʻe is in the ancient district of Puna, the southeastern coast of the island, and the land division (ahupuaʻa) of Kalapaki. Royal Governor Kaikioʻewa officially made it his governing seat in 1837, moving it from Waimea; he named the town after land he owned on Oahu by the same name.
With the emergence of the sugar industry in the 1800s, Līhuʻe became the central city of the island with the construction of a large sugar mill. Early investors were Henry A. Peirce, Charles Reed Bishop and William Little Lee. The plantation struggled until William Harrison Rice built the first irrigation system in 1856.
The Lihue post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Lihue rank for history?
Lihue is more historic than 33% of U.S. towns, #24 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 Lihue?
6 listings: 3 buildings, 2 historic districts, the Grove Farm and the Lihue Civic Center Historic District, with 18 contributing buildings, and 1 site. 21 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Lihue?
2% of Lihue’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.2 points), against a typical 1.7% for a Hawaii town; the median home was built in 1983.
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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via 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.
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