History · Paia

Paia’s post office opened in 1900, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 50% of U.S. towns · #8 of 93 in Hawaii. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Makawao Union Church and the Paia School. Below: maps from 1914 on and the census since 2000.

1900first post office

2on the National Register

13%homes built before 1940

3famous people

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Quick answers

How Paia began

When was Paia founded?

1900

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

First census: 2,499 in 20002020 census: 2,470126 years

How historic is Paia?

B⁻

More historic than 50% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

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

History grade

What drives Paia’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Paia is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #8 of 93 in Hawaii. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B⁻

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Paia’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 194013.1% of homes (±6.9) · typical HI town 1.7% · U.S. 8.4%B⁻National Register2 listings, 8 historic buildings, 31.8 per 10,000 residents · typical HI town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4A⁻

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 50%

NewerOlder

Hawaii towns of 2,500+ (93)Ahead of 92%

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 Paia’s 31.8 sits above most of its state (95% of Hawaii towns have fewer) while its 8 historic buildings outnumber those of 74% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.9 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 Paia’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 Paia are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages8 hamlets and corners are still on the map.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Paia’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Paia’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

Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Paia’s post office has been open since 1900.

Hamlets and corners on the map

Hawaiian-Spanish VillageKāheka VillageKūʻauLower PāʻiaNashiwa VillagePāʻiaSchool VillageStore Village

Gone or out of use

Maui High SchoolschoolPaia Sugar Milllocale

1cemetery inside Paia

Ku'au Evangelical

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

The story so far

Paia, in brief

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

Pāʻia ([paːˈʔijə], lit. 'noisy') is a census-designated place (CDP) in Maui County, Hawaii, United States, on the northern coast of the island of Maui. The population was 2,470 at the 2020 census. Pāʻia is home to several restaurants, art galleries, surf shops and other tourist-oriented businesses. It was formerly home to a Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company mill from 1880 to 2000. Pāʻia is the first town on the Hana Highway when heading eastbound towards Hana. Pāʻia is located close to many internationally known windsurfing spots including Hoʻokipa and Spreckelsville. It is therefore sometimes called "The World Capital of Windsurfing".

Its first post office opened in 1900. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 2,668 to 2,470 (-7%).

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

Timeline

Paia, 1900 to 1965

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

20th century
1900Post officeThe Paia post office opens
1926Born hereElmer Cravalho is born here
1928Born hereEsther T. Mookini is born here
1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
1965Born hereBeth Arnoult is born here

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.

Add from your album

On the map

Paia on the map, 1954 to 1997

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

1954Paia 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 Paia.

Every building

Paia, building by building, 1914

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.

1914Sheet 1 of 2

Sheets

+1 more at the Library of Congress

BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Paia

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

places listed

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

each building in a district counts

first listed

1985

Makawao Union Church

Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Dickey, C.W.1

Classical Revival1

Makawao Union ChurchDickey, C.W.

All 2 listings

Paia SchoolBuilding · listed 2000

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

People over time

Paia, census by census

Between 2,470 and 2,668 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Paia

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

See all →

Elmer CravalhoAmerican politician · b. 1926

Beth ArnoultAmerican wheelchair tennis player · b. 1965

Esther T. MookiniHawaiian linguist · b. 1928

Questions about Paia’s history

What year was Paia founded?

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

How does Paia rank for history?

Paia is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #8 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 Paia?

Two places: the Makawao Union Church (listed 1985) and the Paia School (2000).

How old are the homes in Paia?

13% of Paia’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.9 points), against a typical 1.7% for a Hawaii town; the median home was built in 1977.

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 National Register of Historic Places (2), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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