Most of Princeville was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. Below: 2 old photos and papers and maps from 1963 on.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Princeville is more historic than 26% of U.S. towns. 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 Princeville’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 Princeville’s 5.0 sits above most of its state (81% 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 (±0.4 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 Princeville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
This region was part of the Crown Lands following the Great Māhele. There was no private property prior to the Māhele, but in 1842 the land had been leased by the governor of Kauai to Godfrey Rhodes and John Bernard for a coffee plantation and this lease of Crown Lands was sold to Robert Crichton Wyllie in 1853. The area was named in honor of an 1860 visit by Prince Albert Kamehameha, son of King Kamehameha IV and Queen Emma. It was then a plantation leased by Robert Crichton Wyllie. He named another part of the plantation "Emmaville", but that name never stuck.
Princeville is more historic than 26% of U.S. towns. 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 Princeville?
One place: the Kaua'i Belt Road-North Shore section (listed 2004).
How old are the homes in Princeville?
0.0% of Princeville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 1.7% for a Hawaii town; the median home was built in 1985.
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 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.
c. 1870
c. 1870
2008
2007
2004
2004
