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MarktwainmonkeypodtreewaiohinuHIPhoto: Vidor at English Wikipedia · Public domain
–Not graded
History · Waiohinu

Waiohinu’s post office opened in 1900

Most of Waiohinu was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. Below: maps from 1924 on.

1900first post office
0on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Vidor at English Wikipedia · Public domain
Quick answers

How Waiohinu began

When was Waiohinu founded?

1900

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

2020 census: 198126 years
Founding year: the first Waiohinu post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Waiohinu’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 Waiohinu are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19244 editions of the USGS map, 1924 to 1995. Watch Waiohinu change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Waiohinu’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Waiohinu’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
On the map

Waiohinu on the map, 1924 to 1995

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

Waiohinu on the 1924 USGS mapWaiohinu on the 1962 USGS mapWaiohinu on the 1981 USGS mapWaiohinu on the 1995 USGS map1924Honuapo sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Waiohinu.

The story so far

Waiohinu, in brief

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

Waiʻōhinu (Hawaiian for "Shiny Water") is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in the district of Kaʻu on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi, in the U.S. state of Hawaiʻi. Waiʻōhinu is the name of the community as well as the ahupua'a, Native Hawaiian subdivision. As of the 2020 census, the CDP had a population of 198.

Its first post office opened in 1900. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 213 to 198 (-7%).

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

Timeline

Waiohinu, 1900 to 1936

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1900Post officeThe Waiohinu post office opens
  3. 1924On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1936Post officeThe Waiohinu post office closes
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
Famous people

Famous people close to Waiohinu

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

See all →
J
Justin KrippsCanadian bobsledder · b. 1987
L
Lei LearmontAmerican politician from Hawaii
I
Iolani LuahineNative Hawaiian kumu hula, dancer, chanter and … · b. 1915
R
Richard CreaganAmerican politician from Hawaii
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Waiohinu had its own post office from 1900 to 1936.

Waiohinu
1900–1936
19001960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Waiʻōhinu

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

NaalehuIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Waiohinu’s history

What year was Waiohinu founded?

The Waiohinu post office opened in 1900, 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 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.