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History · Maunaloa

Maunaloa’s post office opened in 1926

Most of Maunaloa was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1995. Below: 2 old photos and papers and maps from 1952 on.

1926first post office
0on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Maunaloa’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Maunaloa began

When was Maunaloa founded?

1926

The Maunaloa post office opened in 1926, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Mauna Loa (1926), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 435100 years
Founding year: the first Maunaloa post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Maunaloa’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Maunaloa’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewOn the beautiful Mauna Loa Creek, Hawaii: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Maunaloa, in brief

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

Its first post office opened in 1926. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 376 to 435 (+16%).

Timeline

Maunaloa, 1901 to 1952

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1901In the archiveOn the beautiful Mauna Loa Creek, Hawaii
  3. 1926Post officeThe Mauna Loa post office opens
  4. 1928Post officeThe Mauna Loa post office closes
  5. 1933Post officeThe Maunaloa post office opens
  6. 1952On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Maunaloa, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s2 items
On the beautiful Mauna Loa Creek, Hawaii1901On the beautiful Mauna Loa Creek, HawaiiPapaia trees, in the Mauna Loa Valley, Hawaii1901Papaia trees, in the Mauna Loa Valley, Hawaii
1910s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today28 recent
Starr 050516-1377 Leucaena leucocephala2005Starr 050516-1377 Leucaena leucocephalaStarr 050516-1376 Leucaena leucocephala2005Starr 050516-1376 Leucaena leucocephalaStarr 050516-1373 Leucaena leucocephala2005Starr 050516-1373 Leucaena leucocephalaStarr 050516-1372 Panicum maximum2005Starr 050516-1372 Panicum maximumStarr 050516-1371 Panicum maximum2005Starr 050516-1371 Panicum maximumStarr 050516-1370 Leucaena leucocephala2005Starr 050516-1370 Leucaena leucocephalaStarr 050516-1369 Swietenia mahogani2005Starr 050516-1369 Swietenia mahoganiStarr 050516-1368 Lagerstroemia sp2005Starr 050516-1368 Lagerstroemia spStarr 050516-1367 Pimenta dioica2005Starr 050516-1367 Pimenta dioicaStarr 050516-1366 Pimenta dioica2005Starr 050516-1366 Pimenta dioicaStarr 050516-1365 Cupaniopsis anacardioides2005Starr 050516-1365 Cupaniopsis anacardioidesStarr 050516-1364 Cupaniopsis anacardioides2005Starr 050516-1364 Cupaniopsis anacardioidesStarr 050516-1363 Hyparrhenia sp2005Starr 050516-1363 Hyparrhenia spStarr 050516-1362 Hyparrhenia sp2005Starr 050516-1362 Hyparrhenia spStarr 050516-1361 Neonotonia wightii2005Starr 050516-1361 Neonotonia wightiiStarr 050516-1360 Ficus macrophylla2005Starr 050516-1360 Ficus macrophyllaStarr 050516-1359 Ficus macrophylla2005Starr 050516-1359 Ficus macrophyllaStarr 050516-1247 Hyparrhenia sp2005Starr 050516-1247 Hyparrhenia spStarr 050516-1246 Hyparrhenia sp2005Starr 050516-1246 Hyparrhenia spStarr 050516-1245 Hyparrhenia sp2005Starr 050516-1245 Hyparrhenia spStarr 050516-1244 Hyparrhenia sp2005Starr 050516-1244 Hyparrhenia spStarr 050516-1243 Leucaena leucocephala2005Starr 050516-1243 Leucaena leucocephalaStarr 050516-1242 Panicum maximum2005Starr 050516-1242 Panicum maximumStarr 050516-1241 Panicum maximum2005Starr 050516-1241 Panicum maximumStarr 050516-1240 Panicum maximum2005Starr 050516-1240 Panicum maximumStarr 050516-1239 Leucaena leucocephala2005Starr 050516-1239 Leucaena leucocephalaStarr 050516-1238 Panicum maximum2005Starr 050516-1238 Panicum maximumStarr 050516-1237 Panicum maximum2005Starr 050516-1237 Panicum maximum
On the map

Maunaloa on the map, 1952 to 1968

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

Maunaloa on the 1952 USGS mapMaunaloa on the 1968 USGS map1952Ilio Point 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 Maunaloa.

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.

On the beautiful Mauna Loa Creek, Hawaii
Retake this viewOn the beautiful Mauna Loa Creek, Hawaii, 1901

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Maunaloa

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

See all →
Kimo von OelhoffenAmerican football player · b. 1971
G
Gene KeliikuliCanadian football player · b. 1943
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Maunaloa’s post office has been open since 1933. Another post office, Mauna Loa, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Mauna Loa
1926–1928
Maunaloa
1933–today
19201970today

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

Questions about Maunaloa’s history

What year was Maunaloa founded?

The Maunaloa post office opened in 1926, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (28), the Library of Congress (2), 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.