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–Not graded
History · Wainaku

30% of Wainaku’s homes were built before 1940

0on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Wainaku’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 Wainaku are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Wainaku’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Wainaku, in brief

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

Wainaku (Hawaiian for 'pushing water') is a census-designated place (CDP) in Hawaiʻi County, Hawaiʻi, United States. The population was 1,147 at the 2020 census.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,224 to 1,147 (-6%).

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

By decade

Wainaku, decade by decade

Today3 recent
2021-10-10 12 47 27 View southeast across Hilo Bay towards Hilo from20212021-10-10 12 47 27 View southeast across Hilo Bay to…Green Bay, Big Island2015Green Bay, Big IslandHIMap-doton-Wainaku2004HIMap-doton-Wainaku
Famous people

Famous people close to Wainaku

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

See all →
Robert KiyosakiAmerican finance author and investor · b. 1947
Kamehameha IIMonarch of the Hawaiian Islands · b. 1797
Ryan HigaAmerican Internet personality and actor · b. 1990
KapiolaniQueen consort of the Hawaiian Islands · b. 1834
J
Jimmy FeigenAmerican swimmer · b. 1989
Pat SaikiAmerican politician · b. 1930
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Hilo17 historic placesCPaukaaIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Wainaku’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

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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 (3) 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.