::: TOWN POSTMARKS - Oahu Postmarks :::

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Aiea, Ewa District
"Nothocestrum tree or shrub"
1899-1900
Postmaster: James A. Low (1899-1900).

Aiea is a land district (ahupua'a) located upland from the northeast corner of Pearl Harbor’s East Loch. Until sugar planting arrived there in the late 1890s, Aiea was open range country, a part of Halawa Ranch. The Oahu Railroad opened its track to Aiea on November 16, 1889 and Aiea became a depot. Honolulu Plantation Co. was organized late in the 1890s with its headquarters, a mill and a plantation town at Aiea. The post office was operated in the plantation headquarters.

Ewa, Ewa District
"crooked"
1856-1871; 1889-1900
Postmasters: S. N. Emerson (1856-1860), Kahaleaahu (1869), L. K. Halualani (1889-1890) and J. E. Kahoa (1890-1900).

The Ewa post office was established near the neck of the Manana Peninsula (later named Pearl City Peninsula; now reserved for U.S. Navy housing). The peninsula separates Pearl Harbor’s Middle and East Lochs (the Peninsula post office was located on this peninsula starting in 1897). The Ewa post office was situated where a mission station was begun in 1835 by Rev. Asa Bishop. The site is now part of the West Oahu campus of the University of Hawaii in Pearl City. In the 1880s and 1890s the land supported cattle ranching and near the shore of Pearl Harbor there were rice, banana and taro farms.

The status of the Ewa post office before 1889 is unclear. Rev. Bishop resided there with his family until 1855 when they moved to Nuuanu, a Honolulu neighborhood. No replacement was named for the Ewa mission station so Bishop rode out there to deliver a sermon about once a month. In 1856, Samuel Emerson was designated postmaster of Waialua and Ewa but he lived in Waialua where he ran a dairy and ranch at Mokulea on the north shore near Kaena Point. He also managed the Waialua mission station his parents had started in present day Haleiwa. It is inconceivable that Emerson actually provided postal service to the residents of the Pearl Harbor area. Instead, the around-the-island overland mail carrier picked up or dropped off any mail at a residence of someone in Ewa who agreed to keep a letter box. Bennett’s 1869 directory lists a post office at Ewa with Kahaleaahu as postmaster. Kahaleaahu probably was the volunteer resident who kept a letter box open. Recognition of a post office in Ewa was interrupted in 1871. The next listing of a post office in Ewa was in 1889. The two postmasters in the ensuing 12 years resided in the Waiawa land district (ahupua'a), a part of present day Pearl City. In 1901, the Ewa post office was re-named Pearl City.

Track for the Oahu Railroad was opened to Pearl City on January 1, 1890 and thereafter mail was sent daily by train over the 11 miles between the Ewa post office and Honolulu. In 1898 Ewa reported stamp sales of only $1. This small amount suggests most mail service for the area was taken over by nearby post offices at Waipahu and Peninsula, or (more likely) was sent directly to Honolulu to be processed at the Honolulu post office. An auxiliary mark for the Oahu Railway depot is recorded for this place, supporting the notion that the Ewa post office sent its mail to Honolulu for processing.

Haleaha, Koolauloa District
"meeting house"
Postmaster: Rev. Kaapu (1881-1882). Rev. Kaapu probably kept a letter box open where local residents could drop mail to be picked up by the overland carrier on his weekly around-the-island circuit. In 1883, he became postmaster of the post office in neighboring Punaluu.

No postmark is recorded.

Hauula, Koolauloa District
"red hau tree"
1856-1861; 1884-1885; 1899-1900
Postmasters: J. Keaupuni (1884), C. Andrews (1899-1900).

Hauula is a small land district (ahupua'a) located in windward Koolauloa District, south of Laie and northwest of Punaluu. The population ethnicity was mainly Hawaiian and Chinese and the economy was local, mainly dependent on taro and rice cultivation. Ships loading were required to anchor off shore while small boats carried cargos of rice beyond the reef. There are references to Hauula Plantation in the 1890s but it was a small operation and not listed in Thrum’s list of plantations.

A post office was opened at Hauula in 1899 with C. Andrews named as postmaster, but what kind of facility existed at this place before 1899 is unclear. References list a post office at Hauula in 1856-1861 but a postmaster is not identified. In 1884, a postmaster was named for Hauula, but no post office was listed there. Probably there was a letter box at the home of a resident volunteer where the overland carrier riding the around-the-island circuit dropped off or picked up letters. In the mid-1880s that resident probably was Keaupuni. Beginning in 1883, the post office at nearby Punaluu served the postal need in the region. In 1899, both a post office and postmaster were named for Hauula. The office was located along the carriage route between Kaneohe and Kahuku; the overland mail carrier who traveled the route to Kahuku and returned the same way took mail to or from Hauula. The C. Andrews listed as the Hauula postmaster may have been Christian Andrews, a school teacher in Koolauloa.

Heeia, Koolaupoko District
"slide"
1891-1900
Postmasters: F. Bucholtz (1891-1894), Henry G. Danford (1894-1896), Wm. Fisher (1896-1898) and A. G. Hime (1899-1900). Danford was performing postal duties under Bucholtz until Bucholtz resigned as postmaster.

Heeia land district is located along the northwestern side of Kaneohe Bay, to the immediate northwest of Kaneohe. By 1865, Heeia was the site of a Catholic Church and seminary. The land was used for taro and rice planting. A sugar plantation was headquartered at Heeia by 1879 (known as McKeague’s and then as Heeia Sugar Company and then as Heeia Agricultural Company). HAC was one of the larger sugar plantations and mills in the vicinity of Kaneohe Bay, with a pier so rail cars could haul sugar to waiting ocean vessels for shipment to Honolulu. Also located in the region of Heeia was Ahuimanu, a model dairy owned by McFarlane. When sugar waned in the 1890s due to poor yields, the area returned to rice planting.

The post office was in the Heeia Agricultural Company plantation headquarters. Mail was taken between Heeia and Honolulu by the overland carrier and also by interisland steamships. In 1898, Heeia reported stamps sales of $120.

Honouliuli, Ewa District
"dark green harbor"
1890-1900
Postmasters: W. J. Lowrie (1890-1892), Andrew Lindsay (1892-1894), W. J. Lowrie (1894-1898) and G. F. Renton (1898-1900).

Honouliuli post office was located in present day Ewa Villages on the Honouliuli Plain westward from Pearl Harbor. Ewa Villages was headquarters for Ewa Plantation. Before sugar, the area was rangeland, part of James Campbell’s Ewa and Kahuku ranches. The discovery and drilling of artesian wells transformed the arid Honouliuli Plain into land suitable for sugar planting. B. F. Dillingham leased the land from Campbell and sub-let the land to Ewa Plantation. Dillingham was interested in creating demand for a railroad and formed the Oahu Railway & Land Company to haul sugar to Honolulu. Ewa Plantation began in 1890 and the first crop was harvested in 1892.

All of the postmasters were connected with Ewa Plantation and the post office was located in the plantation headquarters. Lowrie and Renton were plantation managers. Mail service between Honouliuli and Honolulu was by the daily train. At first, the line only reached to Pearl City, but was extended to Ewa Plantation mill in 1892. In 1898, Honouliuli reported stamps sales of $438.25, indicating it was a busy office.

Kaaawa, Koolauloa District
"wrasse fish"
No post office is recorded here.

“Ka'a'awa” (“Ka'awa” is said to be an old spelling) is a land district on the windward coast at the south end of Koolauloa. The division between Koolauloa and Koolaupoko runs between Kaaawa and Kualoa, the northern district of Koolaupoko. Kaaawa was a part of Gerrit Judd’s Kualoa estate at the north end of Kaneohe Bay. C. G. Hopkins also had land in Kaaawa. By 1865, tiny Kualoa Plantation was formed with part of its land in Kaaawa and a mill in Kualoa. The plantation was abandoned in 1871. Judd's "home ranch" was located nearby in Kualoa. A letter box located somewhere in Kaaawa was served by the overland carrier who wrote the name of the land district to cancel stamps on letters picked up there.

Kaalaea, Koolaupoko District
"ocherous earth"
1900
Postmaster: J. K. Maawe (1900); probably a letter box for the overland carrier as no post office is noted here in the reports.

Kaalaea is a land district (ahupua'a) on windward Oahu situated along the western shore of Kaneohe Bay, just to the northwest of Heeia. In 1865, it was the site of small Kaalaea Plantation, managed by Rhodes Spencer; a farm owned by a Jos. Stewart (see Kahaluu) was also located there. The sugar plantation was given up around 1883. In 1888, the area was known for rice and taro cultivation by the Hawaiian and Chinese who lived there.

No postmark is recorded.

Kahaluu, Koolaupoko District
"diving place"
1865-1867
Postmaster: Jos. Stewart (1865-1867).

Kahaluu is a land district (ahupua'a) along the western side of Kaneohe Bay. Joseph Stewart farmed rice in the terraces in the 1860s. Catherine Stewart owned a small sugar plantation there in the 1880s. The area supported extensive taro terraces. A Catholic mission and school were established near here and the area was eventually purchased by Henry Macfarlane and operated as a dairy farm. Kahaluu was a stop and letter box on the overland mail route.

No postmark is recorded.

Kahuku, Koolauloa District
"projection"
1856-1861; 1890-1900
Postmasters: R. Moffitt (1859-1860), Alex. Young, Jr. (1890), Jas. Cowan (1890-1893), James F. Clay (1893-1894), W. H. G. Arnemann (1894-1895), Geo. Weight (1896-1900).

Kahuku was a ranching center before it was planted with sugar in the 1890s. Moffitt owned and worked a farm and ranch of about 10,000 acres in Kahuku as early as 1851. In 1880, the ranch (then over 23,000 acres) was owned by James Campbell. Campbell leased the land to B. F. Dillingham who sub-leased it to Kahuku Plantation. Dillingham was creating business to support extension of his railroad to Kahuku. Until the railroad reached Kahuku, interisland steamships anchored off Kahuku and were loaded by boats from Kahuku pier. The steamer Kaala lost her anchorage and was smashed on the beach at Kahuku in January 1898. On January 1, 1899, Kahuku became the windward and northern terminus of the Oahu Railroad.

In 1859-1861, the Kahuku post office served the entire northern Koolauloa District and Moffitt was listed as postmaster for Kahuku, Koolauloa and Hauula. Mail service to or from Kahuku was by the overland mail until the railroad reached Kahuku, when daily train service was provided between Kahuku and Honolulu via Waianae and Waialua. Kahuku Ranch kept a supply of stamps in 1879. In 1898, Kahuku reported stamps sales of $195.50.

Kaneohe, Koolaupoko District
"bamboo [cruel] husband" referring to sharp bamboo [Pukui]; "slim man" [Davey]
1856-1867; 1881-1900
Postmasters: B. W. Parker (1859-1866), S. Kaulia (1882-1885), A. Ku (1885-1889), Kahuakaiko (1890-1892), F. K. Pahia (1893-1895) and Bishop Pahia (1896-1900).

The name Kaneohe belongs to the windward Oahu land district covering covers the broad plain extending from the foot of the Nuuanu Pali to the south end of Kaneohe Bay and most of the Mokapu Peninsula forming the eastern shore of Kaneohe Bay. Rev. Benjamin Parker established a mission church at Kaneohe in 1834, near the head of Kaneohe Bay. Numerous small and mostly unsuccessful sugar plantations were located in the area. Taro and rice farming were the predominant occupations.

Kaneohe post office received two sheets (@25 stamps per sheet) of 2˘ numerals in 1859. In 1867 that office was closed but Kaneohe remained a stop on the overland around-the-island mail carrier route. After crossing the Nuuanu Pali from Honolulu and descending onto the coastal plain, the carrier turned north at Kaneohe to return to Honolulu via Kahuku and Waialua. Mail for southern Koolaupoko was left at Kaneohe for a separate carrier going between Kaneohe and Waimanalo. Consistent postal service with a regular post office began in Kaneohe in 1882. The rarity of Kaneohe postmarks suggests a limited amount of postal business was generated there. The precise location of the post office continues to be researched. In 1898, Kaneohe reported no stamps sales.

Koolau
"windward"
Postmaster: Batlemann.

The name refers to the combined districts of Koolauloa and Koolaupoko, comprising all of windward Oahu, and also applies to the mountain range separating Honolulu and Central Oahu from windward Oahu. I have found no village by this name. The reference to “Koolau” as some form of postal facility probably was to an 1860s era letter box located somewhere in windward Oahu.

No postmark is recorded.

Kualoa, Koolaupoko District
"long back"
1865
Postmaster: Jabez Turner (1865).

Kualoa is located on the northern shore of Kaneohe Bay, the northern-most ahupua'a in Koolaupoko. In 1864 it was the site of Kualoa Plantation operated by Judd & Wilder. The land proved unsuitable for sugar and in 1871 the area reverted to rangeland for cattle ranching. Charles Judd was operating a ranch there in 1875 and his ranch was still the most notable thing in the locality in 1890.

Kualoa was the location of a letter box along the around-the-island overland mail route. The region later was served by the Waiahole and Waikane post offices.

No postmark is recorded.

Laie, Koolauloa District
"leaf of 'ie plant"
1878-1879; 1889-1900
Postmasters: H. H. Cluff (1880), Wm. King (1889-1890), W. E. Pack (1890-1892), M. Noall (1892-1894), M. M. Harmon (1894-1895), Geo. P. Garff (1896-1898), Edwin W. Fifield (1898) and S. E. Wooley (1899-1900).

C. G. Hopkins ran cattle on parts of Laie ahupua'a, located in northern Koolauloa. In 1865 a Mormon Colony was founded at Laie. The area was mostly open rangeland at that time. Sugar planting was tried at Laie and a mule driven mill was built in 1868, but lack of water limited production until irrigation was improved in the 1880s. Laie Plantation, operated by the Mormon Colony, was established in the late 1880s for growing sugar cane. Lighters hauled cane to steamships waiting off shore until a pier was constructed in 1887.

Laie was situated along the main overland mail circuit from Honolulu via Kaneohe and Waialua. In the 1890s, steamships stopping to load cane at Laie provided another way to transport mail between Laie and Honolulu. A post office was listed for Laie in 1878-1879 but for most of the period before 1889 Laie was merely a stop along the overland route. Cluff, a Bishop of the Mormon Church, kept stamps for the colony at Laie before the post office there was reestablished in 1889. Wooley was manager of Laie Plantation and apparently nominated the postmasters at least starting with Garff. In 1898, Laie reported stamps sales of $60.

Pearl City, Ewa District
1894-1895
Postmaster: John E. Kahoa (1894-1895).

Reports of a post office named Pearl City prior to 1901 were merely erroneous references to the post office named Ewa. The change of name happened in 1901.

No postmark is recorded but an auxiliary mark for the Oahu Railway depot is recorded for this place, suggesting the Ewa post office sent its mail to Honolulu for processing.

Peninsula, Ewa District
1897-1900
Postmaster: Frank Archer (1897-1900).

A suburban residential development located on the Pearl City Peninsula separating the Middle and East Lochs of Pearl Harbor. On pre-1890 maps, the peninsula is named the Manana Peninsula and it is now a part of the U.S. Navy reservation. A branch line of the Oahu Railroad ran into the peninsula from the Pearl City depot. Mail was carried daily on the railroad between Peninsula and Honolulu. In 1898, Peninsula reported no stamp sales. It may have sent mail to Honolulu for processing.

Punaluu, Koolauloa District
"coral dived for" [Pukui]; "scattered coral" [Davey]
1883-1900
Postmasters: Rev. J. W. Kaapuu (1883-1886), J. Hale (1886-1890), Mrs. J. Hale (1890-1892), S. Hoomana (1892-1896) and Wm. Rathburn (1897-1900).

Punaluu is a land district and village on windward Oahu. The area was cultivated with rice and taro. By 1865, steamships were taking on cargo at Punaluu by means of lightering vessels ferrying cargo from the shore. As with other rice growing regions on windward Oahu, Punaluu's population was dominated by Chinese and their numbers were reported “large” in 1890. The anchorage at Punaluu was dangerous and the famous schooner Nettie Merrill (by then re-named Marion) was lost there in January, 1880.

Punaluu was on the main overland mail route from Honolulu via Kaneohe and Waialua. Once the stage road was built over Nuuanu Pali, the mail stage went to Laie and then returned the way it had come. In 1898, Punaluu reported no stamp sales.

Wahiawa, Ewa District
"place of noise" referring to loud surf [Pukui]; "foggy place" [Davey]
1899-1900
Postmasters: L. G. Kellogg (1899-1900). A listing of D. McBryde as postmaster in prior works is wrong. He resided at Wahiawa on Kauai.

Wahiawa is where L. G. Kellogg, a nephew of my great-great grandfather, started the first commercial pineapple plantation in Hawaii. It is located near the summit of the pass between Pearl Harbor and Waialua. A spur line of the Oahu Railroad was constructed in 1906.

Waiahole, Koolaupoko District
"mature ahole (fish) water" [Pukui]; "small fish water" [Davey]
1884-1889
Postmasters: G. C. Kemper (1887), Arthur Johnstone (1887-1889) and S. K. Papaai (1889).

Waiahole and Waikane are neighboring land districts (ahupua'a) on the northwestern end of Kaneohe Bay, noted for taro and rice cultivation. The population of the districts was mostly Hawaiian and Chinese and the economy was local except for rice grown for shipment to Honolulu. Waiahole was the site of a rice mill by 1880. Small interisland steamships anchored offshore and rice was loaded by means of flat bottomed boats from wagons hauled by oxen into the shallow bay waters.

The Waiahole and Waikane post offices sometimes are confused in contemporaneous records. During the 1880s, before 1889, the post office for the two districts was at Waiahole and a letter box was kept in Waikane. From April 1, 1887 to March 31, 1888, Honolulu received 415 letters from Waiahole. Papaai was appointed postmaster of Waikane and Waiahole in 1889. Papaai lived in Waikane, so the post office was closed at Waiahole and opened at Waikane. Despite the Waiahole post office being closed, after 1889 there are unofficial and official references to the Waikane post office that mistakenly use the name Waiahole. References to a Waiahole post office from mid-1889 forward are to the office located at Waikane. The main overland mail circuit serviced both districts.

Waialua, Waialua District
"two streams"
1856-1900
Postmasters: S. N. Emerson (1858-1876), Edward Hore (1877), S. N. Emerson (1878-1889). Paul Mahaulu (1889-1894) and A. S. Mahaulu (1894-1900). Emerson also was listed as postmaster for Ewa in 1860. According to Pioneer Day in Hawaii, Samuel Emerson was engaged in running the Mokulea ranch and dairy in western Waialua District and also managed the Waialua mission station during his father's lengthy absences to the United States and Micronesia. It is inconceivable that he also managed a post office at Ewa on the opposite side of Oahu.

Waialua village was situated at present day Haleiwa. Emerson's father founded a mission station there in 1832. Initially, the mission was located just north of the Anahola River but in 1840 it moved south of the river near the present Haleiwa town center. In 1865, Waialua was the site of a race track for horse racing and attracted enthusiasts from all over Oahu for the twice weekly races. Waialua was described in 1875 as a formerly populous village shrunken to a school for girls, one or two plantations and cattle ranches. The Oahu Railroad reached Waialua on June 11, 1898. On August 5, 1899, the Oahu Railway Co. opened a resort hotel, named Haleiwa, near the Waialua depot.

In the early years of the Waialua post office, business was conducted at the mission located on the present cemetery site at Emerson Road. Waialua received two sheets of Numeral stamps (@25 stamps per sheet) in 1859. In the 1890s, the post office was located in Mahaulu’s general merchandise store. In December, 1898, the post office was moved to the Waialua railway station. From at least 1884, Waialua was a weekly stop for interisland steamships; in 1886, the service became twice weekly. Mail was carried between Waialua and Honolulu by the overland carrier service and by the steamships. A local express called “White’s Express,” about which little is known, also carried mail between Honolulu, Waianae and Waialua and residents there preferred the private express to the overland mail service. Mail was carried by train after the railroad reached Waialua. In 1898, Waialua reported stamps sales of $56.50.

Waialua Plantation, Waialua District
1899-1900
Postmasters: T. Halstead (1898), W. W. Goodale (1899-1900); the post office is first listed in 1899.

This office was operated at the headquarters and plantation town for Waialua Agricultural Co. formed in 1898 at present day Waialua on cane land first planted in the 1830s and maintained as part of the Halstead Brothers’ farm in the 1880s and 1890s. A Catholic mission station was established about 1852 in the neighborhood of the Halstead farm.

No postmark recorded.

Waianae, Waianae District
"mullet water"
1882-1900
Postmasters: J. L. Richardson (1882-1885), H. A. Widemann (1885-1886), August Ahrens (1886-1896), D. Center (1898) and R. L. Gilliland (1899-1900). Richardson was keeping postage stamps at Waianae before becoming postmaster in 1882.

Waianae was ranch country on the northwestern coast. Judge Hermann A. Widemann and Julius L. Richardson began Waianae Sugar Co. in 1878, with a mill and landing at Waianae village. All of the postmasters were affiliated with the sugar plantation so the office probably was located in the company’s headquarters, although it may have been in the local court house or in the nearby small building in the photograph below. In the mid-1880s, Waianae had several stores, two churches, two schools and a club house with billiards, card tables and chess. Chinese and Hawaiians dominated the population. Waianae Sugar Co. was the first plantation on Oahu to use electricity.

Waianae was a stop on the overland around-the-island mail route fixed in 1856. In 1884, the overland route was changed so Waianae had its own weekly carrier going from Honolulu to Waianae and returning. Also starting in 1884, mail was transported between Honolulu, Waianae and Waialua weekly by interisland steamship and in 1886, the service was changed to twice weekly and lasted until 1895. A local express called “White’s Express,” about which little is known, also carried mail between Honolulu, Waianae and Waialua and was preferred by residents there. The Oahu Railroad reached Waianae on July 4, 1895, thirty two miles from Honolulu. Thereafter, mail was hauled to Honolulu by train. In 1898, Waianae reported stamps sales of $216.

Waikane, Koolaupoko District
"Kane's water"
1881-1884; 1889-1900
Postmasters: S. E. K. Papaai (1881), J. W. P. Kamealoha (1882-1884) and S. E. K. Papaai (1889-1899).

Waikane and Waiahole are neighboring land districts (ahupua'a) on the northwestern end of Kaneohe Bay and the two post offices in those districts sometimes are confused in the contemporaneous records. Before 1889, Waikane had a letter box and the post office was at Waiahole. A post office for Waikane was first listed officially in 1889, when Papaai was appointed postmaster of Waikane and Waiahole. Papaai lived in Waikane, so the post office was closed at Waiahole and opened at Waikane. Despite the Waiahole post office being closed, after 1889 there are unofficial and official references to the Waikane post office that mistakenly use the name Waiahole. References to a Waiahole post office from mid-1889 forward are to the office located at Waikane.

Waikane and Waiahole were noted for taro and rice cultivation. The districts were populated mostly by Hawaiian and Chinese and the economy was local except for rice grown for shipment to Honolulu. Waiahole was the site of a rice mill by 1880. Small interisland steamers anchored offshore and rice was loaded by means of flat bottomed boats from wagons hauled by oxen into the shallow bay waters.

Waimanalo, Koolaupoko District
"potable water" [Pukui]; "brackish water" [Davey]
1899-1900
Postmaster: A. Irvine (1893-1900).

Waimanalo was the headquarters and landing for Mauna Rose, a stock ranch owned by Thomas Cummins. Waimanalo Plantation began growing sugar cane in 1881. Waimanalo was popular with Kalakaua and Liliuokalani who often visited the country home of John Cummins. Besides ranching and sugar cane cultivation, the region supported a large Hawaiian population engaged in taro cultivation, and Chinese engaged in rice farming.

Waimanalo was the southern terminus of the short overland route from Kaneohe so the overland carrier regularly left or picked up mail at Waimanalo starting in 1868. When steamship mail service was arranged between Honolulu and Kaneohe, mail for Waimanalo was taken to Kaneohe and then by overland carrier to Waimanalo. This arrangement was frustrating for those in Waimanalo because the steamship stopped at Waimanalo on its way to Kaneohe. A. Irvine, who was associated with Waimanalo Plantation, was commissioned postmaster without pay in 1893 so Waimanalo mail could be left there instead of having to wait for it to go on to Kaneohe and then be brought on horseback to Waimanalo. Irvine also received and sent mail by the company steamships running three times weekly between Waimanalo and Honolulu starting about 1893. In 1898, Waimanalo reported stamp sales of $79.60. A formal post office is not listed at Waimanalo until 1899.

No postmark is known. Based on information Davey described as “reliable,” he reported a purple Waimanalo postmark, type 281.013. The usage was listed as 1898, but with a question mark. Davey had not seen this mark personally and it has never been confirmed since. Based on an assumption that the mark was erroneously described and the absence of any further report of its existence I deleted the mark from the listings.

Waipahu, Ewa District
"bursting water" [Pukui]; "gushing water" [Davey] as in a spring
1897-1900
Postmaster: H. D. Johnson (1897-1900).

Oahu Sugar Co. was formed in 1894 at Waipahu, located along the lower reaches of Kipapa Stream above the Waipio Peninsula that separates Pearl Harbor’s West and Middle Lochs. The land formerly was open range for cattle. The Oahu Railroad passed Waipahu in 1892, before the plantation was established. By 1897, the Oahu Sugar Co. plantation railroad connected with the Oahu Railroad at Waipahu junction.

Waipahu post office was located in the plantation headquarters near the mill. The Oahu Railroad carried the mail between Waipahu and Honolulu. In 1898, Waipahu reported stamp sales of $289.30.

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