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C−History
History · Waipahu

Waipahu’s post office opened in 1900, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 17% of U.S. towns · #45 of 93 in Hawaii. What drives it

Most of Waipahu was built recently: 0.5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1971. Its Register listings are the Wakamiya Inari Shrine and the Marigold Building. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1954 on, and the census since 1970.

1900first post office
2on the National Register
0.5%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Waipahu’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Waipahu began

When was Waipahu founded?

1900

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

First census: 24,150 in 19702020 census: 43,485126 years

How historic is Waipahu?

C−

More historic than 17% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Waipahu post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Waipahu’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Waipahu is more historic than 17% of U.S. towns, #45 of 93 in Hawaii. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Waipahu’s overall grade.
Founding era1900, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19400.5% of homes (±0.4) · typical HI town 1.7% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register2 listings, 0.5 per 10,000 residents · typical HI town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 17%
NewerOlder
Hawaii towns of 2,500+ (93)Ahead of 52%

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 Waipahu’s 0.5 sits near the middle of its state (60% of Hawaii towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to C. The pre-1940 share (±0.4 points) is firm at this size. 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 Waipahu’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 Waipahu’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Waipahu’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 viewRainbow over Waipahu '58 Farrington Hwy: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Waipahu came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Waipahu.

Read it all →

Waipahu is the name of an artesian spring. In Hawaiian, "Waipahu" derives from wai, meaning water, and pahū, meaning "burst or explode"; "Waipahu" thus means "water forced up (as out of a spring)". The early Native Hawaiians took pleasure in the cool and clear water gushing from the ground and named this spring Waipahu. Before Western civilization came to Hawaii, Hawaiians considered Waipahu the capital of Oahu. Royalty in the Kingdom of Hawaii often gathered and enjoyed the fresh water from the spring Waipahu.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Waipahu, 1900 to 1980

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1900Post officeThe Waipahu post office opens
  3. 1929Born hereDanny Barcelona is born here
  4. 1952Born hereKirk Caldwell is born here
  5. 1953Born hereTom Villard is born here
  6. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1958In the archiveRainbow over Waipahu '58 Farrington Hwy
  8. 1980Born hereBrian Viloria is born here
By decade

Waipahu, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1950s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1950s2 items
Rainbow over Waipahu '58 Farrington Hwy1958Rainbow over Waipahu '58 Farrington HwyWaipahu Post Office 19591959Waipahu Post Office 1959
1960s–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
Today4 recent
US Navy 060531-N-6775N-087 Cmdr. Daniel Colman of Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit One (MDSU-1), talks with a fourth grad…2006US Navy 060531-N-6775N-087 Cmdr. Daniel Colman of Mob…US Navy 060531-N-6775N-086 Cmdr. Daniel Colman assigned to Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit One (MDSU-1), talks with a fo…2006US Navy 060531-N-6775N-086 Cmdr. Daniel Colman assign…US Navy 060406-N-0641S-070 Electrician's Mate 2nd Class Jason Switzer, assigned to Mobile Diving Salvage Unit One (MDSU…2006US Navy 060406-N-0641S-070 Electrician's Mate 2nd Cla…US Navy 060406-N-0641S-030 Machinist's Mate 2nd Class Rick Parizal, assigned to Mobile Diving Salvage Unit One (MDSU-1)…2006US Navy 060406-N-0641S-030 Machinist's Mate 2nd Class…
On the map

Waipahu on the map, 1954 to 1998

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

Waipahu on the 1954 USGS mapWaipahu on the 1968 USGS mapWaipahu on the 1983 USGS mapWaipahu on the 1998 USGS map1954Waipahu 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 Waipahu.

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.

Rainbow over Waipahu '58 Farrington Hwy
Retake this viewRainbow over Waipahu '58 Farrington Hwy, 1958

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Waipahu

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
Wakamiya Inari Shrine
Wakamiya Inari ShrineMarigold Building
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Shinto Sect Shrine1
Wakamiya Inari ShrineShinto Sect Shrine
All 2 listings
Marigold BuildingBuilding · listed 1983

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

People over time

Waipahu, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,00045,000198020002020Peak: 43,485

Between 24,150 and 43,485 people in every census since 1970.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

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

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Waipahu

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

See all →
B
Brian ViloriaAmerican boxer · b. 1980
T
Tom VillardAmerican actor · b. 1953
Kirk CaldwellAmerican politician · b. 1952
D
Danny BarcelonaAmerican musician · b. 1929
Prince OanaAmerican baseball player · b. 1908
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

West Loch Estate1 historic placeCWaikeleIts storyD−Royal KuniaIts storyD−East KapoleiIts storyD−

Questions about Waipahu’s history

What year was Waipahu founded?

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

How does Waipahu rank for history?

Waipahu is more historic than 17% of U.S. towns, #45 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 Waipahu?

Two places: the Wakamiya Inari Shrine (listed 1980) and the Marigold Building (1983).

How old are the homes in Waipahu?

0.5% of Waipahu’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 1.7% for a Hawaii town; the median home was built in 1971.

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 Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, 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) 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.