Kalaupapa and Kalawao Settlements Cultural Landscape

Kalaupapa National Historical Park is located on a peninsula on the Hawaiian Island of Molokai.

NPS

Overview

The Kalaupapa and Kalawao Settlements cultural landscape is located on an isolated peninsula on the weathered north coast of the Hawaiian Island of Molokai, within Kalaupapa National Historical Park. Here, the first Hansen’s Disease (leprosy) colony in American history was established in response to an epidemic that swept the Hawaiian Islands in the mid-1800s, and the physically isolated peninsula became home to thousands of exiled people afflicted by Hansen's Disease. Over time, the character of the landscape evolved to reflect the needs and choices of the residents during and after the historic period of significance.

Kalaupapa National Historical Park encompasses the entire peninsula, bounded to the west, north, and east by the Pacific Ocean, and to the south by the pali, a geological formation composed of some of the world’s tallest sea cliffs.

The 2017 National Historic Landmark Nomination describes the significance of the landscape:

The period of significance extends from 1866 to 1969, covering the period when the settlement was operated under a policy of compulsory segregation of persons believed to have the disease. During those years, approximately 8,000 people—mostly Native Hawaiians—were forcibly exiled to the Kalaupapa peninsula, isolated from their families and society under the rationale that this would halt the spread of the disease. Those sent to Kalaupapa also fought to retain control over their lives by demanding reforms to the government’s leprosy] program, inspiring others to support them, and adapting the settlement to meet their needs as a predominantly Hawaiian community. The establishment and expansion of the settlement also involved a second incidence of separation: the removal of the kama‘āina, the Native residents of the area. Hawaiians had lived on the Kalaupapa peninsula for centuries, forming ties with the land that were disrupted when they were forced to make way for the settlement.

The park “honors the mo’olelo (story) of the isolated Hansen’s disease (leprosy) community by preserving and interpreting its site and values. The historical park also tells the story of the rich Hawaiian culture and traditions at Kalaupapa” that extend more than 800 years. As of 2020, Kalaupapa Settlement remains home to a community of seven patients and eighty kōkua (helpers), most of whom are employees of the State of Hawaiʻi Department of Health (DOH) or National Park Service (NPS) personnel.

Bay View Home, Kitchen & Dining Area.

NPS / Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS HI-85-D)

Landscape History

Based on oral traditions and archeological evidence, it is believed that Makanalua peninsula, later known as Kalaupapa peninsula, was the site of a major battle over fishing rights between the chiefs of the Kekaha and Koʻolau districts of Molokai during the early eighteenth century. The Kekaha chiefs, backed by Kualiʻi, a chief from Oʻahu, prevailed in the battle, resulting in the Kekaha and Oʻahu chiefs taking control of Molokai.

The landscape shows evidence of use of the colluvial soils in the valley bottoms and along the base of the pali, as agricultural complexes with irrigated terraces dating to as early as 1200 AD. Many of these complexes retain components of the wetland agriculture that is found throughout the Hawaiian Islands, such as walled enclosures, diversion channels, and ditches. When the settlement was established at Kalawao in 1866, access to fresh water and areas where taro could be grown remained an important agricultural activity. After 1200 AD, archeological research suggests that people were using both the wetter valleys and some areas of the peninsula for dry land farming, particularly cultivation of sweet potatoes. Marine resources were harvested along the shoreline during this time, indicated by the presence of materials found at early habitation sites and shelters.

It is not known exactly when leprosy first arrived in Hawaiʻi, or how it arrived, but the presence of the disease was brought to public attention by the Board of Health around 1863. In an effort to prevent the further spread of the disease in the Hawaiian Islands, King Kamehameha V signed an act on January 3, 1865 that authorized his government to isolate anyone having the disease.

Kalaupapa landing, which allowed for easier access to the peninsula by sea, undated photo.

Kalaupapa Historical Society, in Cultural Landscape Report.

Although the Kalaupapa landing strip has now made travel to and from the peninsula easier, access during the early period was only possible by boat or over the steep pali trails that connected the peninsula with the rest of Molokai. This unique physiographic setting made the Kalaupapa Peninsula seem like an ideal place to isolate thousands of people afflicted with Hansen's Disease.

On January 6, 1866, the schooner Warwick departed for Molokai, carrying the first twelve leprosy patients to be sent to the settlement. The patients were left at the mouth of Waikolu Valley to make their way to Kalawao. The original inhabitants of the peninsula—all of whom would be removed from the peninsula in 1894—had owned land and houses, which were purchased by the government, and these arrivals and other early residents of Kalawao moved into fifteen to twenty empty properties.

The Kalawao settlement was abandoned over the course of several decades, starting in the 1880s. The community slowly relocated to the western side of the peninsula where weather conditions were more favorable. By the early 1890s Kalaupapa was the center and activity of the settlement.

View looking northwest of the south and east sides of St. Francis Catholic Church. Damien Hall, the social hall, is visible to the right, 1938.

KALA Kalaupapa Historical Society Album H PG 14 #829, in Cultural Landscape Report.

The historic vernacular landscape is associated with the Belgian priest, Father Damien DeVeuster, who devoted himself to assisting the patients and improving the settlement's living conditions by garnering political and financial support. The efforts of Damien and other historical figures like Mother Marianne Cope and Brother Joseph Dutton helped Kalaupapa develop as the community grew. Because of their commitment to improving both living conditions and treatment facilities, Kalaupapa eventually afforded many of the amenities available in a less-isolated community.

Bay View Home, view looking south showing layout of the buildings and walkways connecting the wards with the dining room in the center of the cluster, and the generally open character of the early landscape, undated.

KALA Potter Collection KALA 17429, in Cultural Landscape Report.

The Kalaupapa and Kalawao Settlements cultural landscape contains boat landings, a road network, neighborhoods, single-family patient housing, dormitories and hospitals, churches, convents, community recreational facilities, cemeteries, dairies, slaughterhouses, and a light industrial area.

Bay View is one example of the internally-focused group home complexes in Kalaupapa. Largely constructed between 1915 and 1917 and originally designed with five similarly-scaled buildings arranged to form a central open space, Bay View is comprised of a cluster of dormitories, a kitchen, and a dining hall.

The Kalaupapa nursery and apiary was started in 1935.

KALA Kalaupapa Historical Society Album G PG 24 #704, in Cultural Landscape Report

In addition to facilities to support the resident-patients, additions were made to the power plant, water system, and power distribution system. The Molokai Electric Company began to supply power to the settlement in 1933, and fire hydrants and streetlights were added to Kalaupapa’s streets. The purchase of a rock crusher, road roller, and other equipment allowed for the paving of roads and parking spaces throughout the settlement, and sidewalks were also built at this time. A plant nursery was established with banana and coconut trees and other planting materials for the use of patients in their yards and gardens.

A stone water reservoir built along Damien Road in the 1880s supplied water to the Kalawao hospital.

NPS (2017)

Portions of the cultural landscape have been well-maintained, particularly at Kalaupapa which has been in continuous use from the late 19th century until the present. However, at Kalawao, usage and maintenance came to an end in the early 1900s, and many of the buildings were salvaged and the building materials used at Kalaupapa. While few of the original built features of the Kalawao Settlement remain, many dry stacked stone walls survive to illustrate former building complexes.

The peninsula of Kalaupapa became the home to an estimated 8,000 people until the isolation policies were abolished in 1969. Following the development of sulphone drugs that halted the advancement and communicability of Hansen’s Disease, resident-patients could leave their enforced isolation. Although the landscape period of significance ends in 1969, the history of the Kalaupapa and Kalawao Settlements continues to evolve through the lives of residents who remained or still reside on the peninsula today.

Paschoal Hall

NPS

Historically, healthier residents were active in carpentry, farming, fishing, and other work necessary for sustaining the settlement. Kalaupapa's revolutionary administrative philosophy encouraged patient participation in the operation of the settlement to foster feelings of self-worth and community cohesion.

View of the Kauhakō Crater interior, 1886. Terracing and rock walls are visible.

KALA Kalaupapa Historical Society Album C PG 31 #407. In Cultural Landscape Report.

Kauhakō Crater Area

Prior to establishment of the settlement at Kalawao, Polynesian settlers established sweet potato farms inside the crater using a method of terracing that remains evident today. Evidence of various traditional Hawaiian habitation sites, rock shelters, and storage enclosures have been documented within the crater by archeologists. The crater also appears to have been used as a burial place. According to one patient, “just going in there you feel the presence” of those earlier peoples.

The area of the cultural landscape is generally vernacular in character. The stone burial ground enclosures and associated grave markers reflect local construction methods and materials, and appear to date to the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The unimproved road is also a vernacular expression that was added in the 1930s to facilitate visits to the crater rim, where religious ceremonies were conducted. The evidence of earlier agricultural and dwelling activity belies a long-lost heritage of lifeways. The most formal element of the Kauhakō Crater character area is the concrete cross, erected in 1956.

Landscape Preservation

The purpose of the Kalaupapa and Kalawao Settlements Cultural Landscape Report (CLR) is to support NPS efforts to preserve, manage, maintain, and interpret the significant heritage associated with Kalaupapa National Historical Park, with particular focus on the cultural landscape.

The areas of the park included in the cultural landscape study include the Molokai Light House at the northern end of the peninsula, Kamehameha Street/Airport Road; a cluster of patient-owned Beach Houses and four cemeteries at ‘Īliopi‘i; eight cemeteries at Papaloa; Barrel Field; a row of residences that edge Kamehameha Street; clusters of administrative, operational, residential, medical, and service features comprising the core of Kalaupapa Settlement; the Pali Trail trailhead and features located within the vicinity of the New Baldwin Home site; the Damien Road corridor that extends east from Kalaupapa Settlement; features associated with Puʻu ʻUao volcanic cone and the associated Kauhakō Crater to the north of the road; the Kahaloko Cemetery and the Ambrose Hutchison House Area to the south; as well as the core area of Kalawao Settlement along the eastern shoreline.

Study area of the Kalaupapa and Kalawao Settlments Cultural Landscape Report.

NPS, Kalaupapa and Kalawao Settlments Cultural Landscape Report

The CLR articulates a preservation philosophy that will guide long-term treatment and management of the park’s cultural landscape and support interpretive programming. To meet the ongoing and evolving needs of the community, the CLR also provides general treatment guidelines for compatible new construction, adaptive use of existing resources, and other potential future modifications to the cultural landscape. These guidelines are supported by specific treatment recommendations for managing cultural landscapes areas and features that enhance both the resource condition and the visitor experience.

A map in the 2020 Cultural Landscape Report indicates land use areas at Kalaupapa.

NPS

As Kalaupapa and Kalawao Settlements transitions from a community focused on addressing the needs of Hansen’s disease patients to a more public landscape, NPS management of the historic property is envisioned to shift to education and interpretation of the significant cultural legacy preserved within the park, and the protection and appropriate management of cultural and natural resources that speak to that significance.

This CLR is unique for its Cemetery Management Plan, included as an appendix to the report, which provides documentation and management strategies for twenty ethnographic and historic cemeteries and isolated gravesites within the study area.

Additionally, the treatment recommendations emphasize stewardship of Kalaupapa’s lands and resources in collaboration with the park’s many partners, addressing features from the historic plant materials to the rock walls.

Residences at Kalaupapa.

NPS

Kalaupapa and Kalawao Settlements are a unique, internationally significant, cultural landscape that reflects the deeply held story of the isolated Hansen’s disease community which was established on Molokai in 1866 and remained in effect by legal edict until 1969. Over fifty years later, Kalaupapa remains a living community of patients, caregivers, and administrators, collectively engaged in promoting health and life on the peninsula. Although future changes are anticipated in terms of use and community composition, the NPS, with its partners, endeavors to protect the integrity and historic character of Kalaupapa and Kalawao Settlements to honor current and former residents and to ensure that the important stories of the community can continue to be told.

Quick Facts

• Cultural Landscape Type: Historic Site
• National Register Significance Level: National
• National Register Significance Criteria: A, B, C, D
• National Historic Landmark
• Period of Significance: 1866-1969

Landscape Links

• Cultural Landscape Inventory park report
• Kalaupapa and Kalawao Settlements Cultural Landscape Report, Vol. I and II
• Library of Congress: American Memory Collection
• National Register of Historic Places: Kalaupapa Leprosy Settlement
• NPGallery Photos

• "Connecting With Our Ancestors at Kalaupapa National Historic Park" (National Trust for Historic Preservation, March 2020)

• More about NPS Cultural Landscapes