This page last updated: 15 July 2019


::: Island of Maui Postmarks, Part 4 - Spreckelsville to Wailuku :::

Back to Islands of Maui, Molokai and Lanai.


Spreckelsville, Wailuku District
named for Claus Spreckels, the "Sugar King" of Hawaii
1883-1900

Spreckels created his plantation, named Hawaiian Commercial Sugar Company (HC&S), on the northern isthmus plains (see map below). During the late 1870s and early ‘80s he had aqueducts built to bring water from Haleakala to the isthmus plains. By 1892, HC&S was the largest sugar plantation in the world. Four sugar mills were on the plantation. A plantation village was Located between Kahului and Paia. A spur of the Kahului Railroad, built to the village in 1884, connected plantation operations to the port at Kahului. A plantation store in the village served as the local post office. Fields, mills and village were connected by an extensive plantation railroad.

Hawaiian Government Survey Map – Spreckelsville Area

Detail from Donn’s 1903 update of the 1885 Hawaiian Government Survey Map, courtesy of David Rumsey Historical Maps (www.davidrumsey.com). Red dots signify post offices and blue dots represent schools. For scale, a straight line between the red dot at the far left of center and the red dot in the upper right corner is about 6 miles. Towns shown are Kahului (the red and blue dots at far left of center), Paia (the red and blue dots in the upper right corner) and Spreckelsville village, depicted by a small diamond and the word Spreckelsville above the blue dot in the middle. Donn placed the Spreckelsville post office and school (red and blue dots at bottom left) alongside a mill built in 1899 near the present Alexander & Baldwin museum, about 4.5 miles from Spreckelsville Village. Perhaps by 1903 the post office moved there, but it is believed the post office stayed at the store in Spreckelsville Village until after mid-1900.

Postmasters: George C. Williams (1884-1887); Hugh Morrison (1888-1890)[HC&S storekeeper]; W. Barclay (1890)[bookkeeper, HC&S]; H. Morrison (1890-1891)[HC&S storekeeper]; H. Center (1891-1894)[HC&S manager]; D. Center (1894-1896)[HC&S superintendent](clerks/acting PMs for Center were T. Leary, until Aug., 1896, then N.R. Knight); G. M. Boote (1897-1898 (assistants under Boote were S.R. Stack [HC&S manager] and R.J. Wilbur); and W. J. Lowrie (1899-1900)[HC&S manager]. Stamps sales in 1884-1885 were about $117 annually. PMG Oat described Spreckelsville as a post office in his 1893 trip report. (Hawaiian Gazette, October 17, 1893, p. 10.) Stamp sales in 1898 were $240.

Old Photo Hawaiian Commercial Sugar Co Store

The Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. store, date uncertain, from an old photograph.

Spreckelsville 292_011 00 - Jun 3 cover HCandS

Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. corner card on cover to plantation manager and postmaster who was staying at the Hawaiian Hotel in Honolulu; Honolulu postmark dated June 3, 1900 on reverse.

281.01
29mm double lined outer and single lined inner circle
Color: Purple, Black
Scarcity: 4
Usage: Feb. 13, 1885 - __, 1894
In December, 1886, the device was described as "much defaced and obliterated." Most strikes lack a year and the entire date often is weak. Late strikes are worn. Noted with unclear date on Scott No. 78 issued in February, 1894.

Spreckelsville 281_01 85 - Aug 14 Peters

August 14, 1885


Spreckelsville 281_01 85 - Aug 14 Peters retro

August 14, 1885
(retroReveal enhanced www.retroreveal.org)


Spreckelsville 281_01 87 - Sep 30 U2

September 30, 1887


Spreckelsville 281_01 87 - Sep 30 U2 retro

September 30, 1887
(retroReveal enhanced)

<

259.04
33mm double lined circle
Color: Purple, Red
Estimated: 5
Usage: January __, 1890 – September __, 1894
Noted on genuine covers and also on favor bisects and on bogus overprinted envelopes. The device was sent to Honolulu to have the rubber “cemented” to “hold it down.”

Spreckelsville 259_04 93 - Aug 5

August 5, 1893

Star forgery entire
Star forgery Spreckelsville 259_04 4Sep93

Bogus Provisional Government “star” overprint on a genuine 2˘ envelope canceled with Sprecklesville postmark type 259.04 dated September 4, 1893, raising a suspicion that someone in the post office was complicit or that the device fell into the hands of someone who made them. All of the “used” examples of the bogus overprint have this postmark.

Bogus “star” Provisional Government overprint.

Star forgery detail
Spreckelsville 259_04  93 - Aug 12 Bisect cover detail
Spreckelsville 259_04  93 - Aug 12 Bisect cover

Cover franked with a “bisect” 2˘ Queen Liluokalani Provisional Government overprint stamp (Scott Hawii No. 57), postmarked with Spreckelsville type 259.04 dated August 12, 1893 and addressed to Mrs. Bickerton at Sprecklesville. The 1885, Hawaii Postal Guide, section 12, explicitly directed local postmasters to hold covers paid with bisected stamps and not to send them forward (The Daily Bulletin, August 14, 1885, p. 8). That directive remained in place for the remainder of the Hawaiian Postal Serice. But the rule was being flouted.An 1889 letter to the PMG from the Paia PM, wanted a poster he could display stating that cutting stamps in two was forbidden. He added: “I am constantly receiving letters from a certain P.O. on Maui with the two cents stamp cut in halves, thus making one stamp do for two letters. I do not want my name mentioned, but Wailuku P.O. is the culprit.” Collectors regard bisected stamps of the 1890s as favors or downright bogus. A bisect postmarked before the stamp was even issued (see Kahului) proves shenanegans were being practiced.

[The rule was different two decades earlier in 1871 when the PMG feared running out of 2˘ stamps and explicitly authorized people to bisect them. For a list of bisected 1871-1872 foreign mail covers, see Scott No. 31b covers. Covers with bisect stamps from that era are in high demand.]

Returning to the cover above: Mrs. Bickerton and her husband, Hawaii Supreme Court Justice R.F. Bickerton, were visiting Spreckelsville in August, 1893. (The Daily Bulletin, Aug. 16, 1893, p. 3), The cover was a drop letter, meaning it was to be picked up at the same post office where it was mailed – technically, a drop letter never went anywhere in the mail. The rate for a drop letter was 1˘. The Spreckelsville postmark shows the letter was processed by the post office and held for Mrs. Bickerton to pick it up. With a full cover, not a cut square, and the evidence that it was a legitimate drop letter, the facts favor calling it a legitimate use but it violated post office rules – or did it? It was not forwarded, it was held as the rule required.

Spreckelsville 282_011 86 - Aug 22 DL Meyer corner card
Spreckelsville 282_011 86 - Aug 22 DL Meyer corner card detail

Corner card of D.L. Meyer, Dealer in Hawaii Postage Stamps/Wailuku overstruck by manuscript Spreckelsville, franked with an 1894 2˘ brown stamp of the Republic Issue, canceled with Spreckelsville 282,011 dated August 22, 1896. Meyer may have had nothing to do with the flim-flam happening at Spreckelsville, Kahului and Wailuku, but his corner card suggests there was a keen local interest in Hawaii postage stamps. Meyer was a freight clerk for Wilder & Co. and the Kahului Railroad.

282.011
33mm double lined outer and single lined inner circle
Color: Purple, Red, Black, Blue
Estimated: 8
Usage: November __, 1894 – June 12, 1900

Spreckelsville 282_011 00 - Jun 12

June 12, 1900

Torbertsville, Makawao District
A letter collection spot or postal agency located at Ulupalakua; named for Linton L. Torbert, who grew produce to sell to the California market. Torbert sold to James Makee who created Rose Ranch. (See Ulupalakua)
1856-1859)

No postmark is known.

Ulupalakua, Kula District
"breadfruit ripening" as on the back of a carrier [Pukui]; "ripe breadfruit ridge" [Davey]
1859-1900

Ulupalakua is located at about 2000’ elevation on the southwestern slope of Haleakala. Makee’s sugar plantation, the legendary Rose Ranch was here; James Dowsett bought the ranch and converted it to cattle between 1886 and 1900; earlier site of the Torbert plantation and a stop on the overland carrier route. Mail service also was provided directly from the port of Makena.

Location of Ulupalakua (red dot)
For overland routes and map details see Overland Mail Routes - Island of Maui Routes
and Maps of Hawaii - Island of Maui

Ulupalakua location
Postmasters: Jas. Makee (1858-1879) [sugar planter]; Mrs. Makee (1879-1881) [widow of James Makee]; Jno. J. Halstead (1884-1887 [bookkeeper at Makee’s Plantation, ran the post office when Makee was PM; Halstead was listed as acting PM in 1884 and postmaster by 1886; died in May, 1887]; Charlotte Halstead (1887-1889) [grand-daughter of J.J. Halstead; ran the post office during J.J. Halstead’s final illness]; Charles W. Wilcox (1889-1890) [a teacher at the English school]; C. A. Buchanan (1890-1892)[Ulupalakua Ranch manager]; Leonard Parrish (1892-1894); S. W. K. Apua (1894-1900)[lawyer].

Stamp sales in 1884-1885 were about $17 annually. PMG Oat described Ulupalakua as a postal agency in his 1893 trip report. (Hawaiian Gazette, October 17, 1893, p. 10.) Stamp sales in 1898 were $90.

801
Ulupalakua
manuscript
Rarity: 1RRRR, one example is in my record.
Noted on a Scott No. 31 cover

64 - Aug 31 Ulupalakua ms - detail

Ulupalakua

281.011
30mm double lined outer and single lined inner circle
Color: Purple
Rarity: 1RRRR, three strikes are in my record
Usage: August 31, 1894 – May 29, 1895

This date stamp was ordered in May, 1894.

Ulupalakua 281_011 94 - Aug 31

Aug. 31, 1894


Ulupalakua 281_011 94 - Aug 31 retro

Aug. 31, 1894
(retroReveal enhanced)

254.02
__mm double lined circle [it should be about 28mm with unserifed letters]
Color: ?
Rarity: 1RRRR
Usage: March __, 1898
This mark is considered tentative at this time.

no image available
Tentative listing, not confirmed

Waiakoa, Kula District
"water used by warrior" [Pukui]; "Koa's water" [Davey]
1893-1900

A village located at about 2700’ elevation on the western slope of Haleakala between Makawao and Ulupalakua. Waiakoa was a stop on the overland route between Hana and Paia via Kaupo and Ulupalakua

Waiakoa location

Location of Waiakoa (red dot)
For overland routes and map details see Overland Mail Routes - Island of Maui Routes
and Maps of Hawaii - Island of Maui

Postmasters: Mr. Naaieono (1893-1894); J. S. Nishwitz (1894-1900)[teacher]. PMG Oat described Waiakoa as a postal agency in his 1893 trip report. (Hawaiian Gazette, October 17, 1893, p. 10.) Stamp sales in 1898 were unrecorded but the postmaster was paid a salary of $5.

255.01
29mm double lined circle
Color: Purple, Black
Rarity: 1RR, eleven strikes are in my record.
Usage: June __, 1899 – March, 1900

99 - Sep 16 HR Harmer 3003, lot 1864 1,700

September 16, 1899
(Courtesy of HR Harmer)


Waiakoa 255_01 00 - Jan 3 ex Burns, Twigg

January 3, 1900

Waihee, Wailuku District
"squid slime" [Pukui]; "water of flight" [Davey]
1872-1878; 1891-1900

Site of the Waihee Sugar Co. plantation in the northeast corner of West Maui, about 3 miles from Wailuku. In 1888, the population of Waihee was estimated at 300 people.

Location of Waihee (red dot)
For overland routes and map details see Overland Mail Routes - Island of Maui Routes
and Maps of Hawaii - Island of Maui

Waihee  location
Waihee 237_03 cover

Waihee postmark type 237.537 dated December _, 1876 on cover to Scotland dated (on reverse) December 4 at Honolulu and January 5, 1877 at Ballater, Scotland.

Postmasters: T. H. Paris (1875-1876); C. B. Wells (1891-1893)[manager, Waihee Sugar Co.]; C. M. Walton (1893-1894)[Waihee Sugar Co. manager]; W. H. Campbell (1895-1898)[head overseer, Waihee Sugar Co.]; W. G. Ogg (1899-1900)[Waihee Sugar Co. employee].

The only Waihee postmark recorded is from the time Paris was Waihee PM. In the 1890s, Waihee mail was processed through the Wailuku post office. PMG Oat described Waihee as a post office in his 1893 trip report; and wrote that Walton conducted the post office business at the office of the plantation. (Hawaiian Gazette, October 17, 1893, p. 10.) Stamp sales in 1898 were unrecorded; the postmaster received no salary.

237.529
Waihee/P.O., diamond side ornaments/no dates
29mm single lined circle
Color: Black
Rarity: 1RRR, seven strikes recorded
Usage: Noted on the 1864 2 Kamehameha IV stamp and on a cover postmarked at Honolulu on December 4, 1876

Waihee 237_03

December __, 1876;
on cover to Scotland postmarked December 13, 1876 at Honolulu


Waihee 237_03 retro

December __, 1876
(retroReveal enhanced)


Waihee 237_03 600 OFF; ex-Davey

Undated (ex-Davey)


Waihee 237_03 600 OFF; ex-Davey retro

(retroReveal enhanced)

Wailuku, Wailuku District
"water of destruction"
1854-1900

A mission station was opened at Wailuku in 1833. A girl's school was there in the 1830's and 1840's but closed and was reopened in the 1870's. Wailuku had a general store in the 1850's and a boarding house by the 1870's. In his Hawaiian Guide Book of 1875, Henry Whitney described Wailuku as a place of considerable importance." Notably, four significant sugar plantations were in the immediate vicinity of Wailuku. When the sugar planting craze of the 1870's propelled Wailuku to the forefront of Maui towns the administrative, social and commercial centers of Maui shifted from Lahaina to Wailuku.

Charles Dickey, the shopkeeper at Haiku who was first to install a “Bell” telephone in Hawaii, connected Wailuku and Haiku by telephone in 1877; by 1880, his line crossed the mountain to Lahaina. In 1879, the Kahului Railroad connected Wailuku with the new port at Kahului and the mail hub at Paia for East Maui. In 1880 Wailuku was estimated to have 50-60 commercial establishments along its streets; two general stores were counted in 1888.

Wailuku  location

Location of Wailuku (red dot)
For overland routes and map details see Overland Mail Routes - Island of Maui Routes
and Maps of Hawaii - Island of Maui

2-8-Wailuku-PH-7102_M_fd1_099-web

Wailuku, c. 1900, with the entrance to Iao Valley behind it and the road to Kahului in the foreground.

Wailuku, Market Street

Market Street, Wailuku, circa 1900

Wailuku – eBay

Wailuku, c. 1900

Iao Valley Singers

Iao Valley Orchestra, 1907, Petroglyph Press

Postmasters: Rev. Ed. W. Bailey (1854-1859) [missionary]; J. D. Havercost (1859-1866) [storekeeper]; W. F. Mossman (1866-1878) [grocer, storekeeper; later PM at Kahului and then Hamakuapoko]; J. H. Hare (1878-1880) [storekeeper]; James W. Girven (1880-___) [general merchant]; Ed. H. Bailey (1883-1887, W.A. McKay was acting PM) [poi manufacturer]; W. A. McKay (1887-1900; J. Rothwell, a clerk in the Interior Office in Honolulu, ran the office in late 1888 while McKay recovered from dysentery; J. M. Lee ran the office for some period of time in 1889-1890 and embezzled money; Wm. Whitney ran the office in Feb., 1898; M.C. Ross ran it in 1899)[McKay had a coffee plantation at Olaa, Big Island, but kept his residence at Wailuku and his wife or others ran the post office]. Until 1859, the post office here was unofficial. Havercost was the first official postmaster and ran the office from his store. The younger Bailey proposed a new building for the post office in 1883. McKay was doing the real postal work of the office from 1883 and Mrs. McKay assisted from 1898.

In 1868, stamp sales were about $35 per quarter and in the years 1884-1885, they were about $475 annually and the postmaster was paid $600 annually. PMG Oat described Wailuku as the largest post and money order office on the island in his 1893 trip report; that it dispatched mail to all points of East Maui; and that it had 70 lock boxes. (Hawaiian Gazette, October 17, 1893, p. 10.) Stamp sales at Wailuku in 1898 amounted to $1,137.60 and the postmaster was paid a salary of $75.

814
manuscript Wailuku P.O./date
Rarity: 1RRRR, two examples are recorded.
Usage: May 31, 1850 - March 12, 1851

Wailuku 814 51 - Mar 12 Wailuku P.O. detail
Wailuku 814 51 - Mar 12 Wailuku Free

From Rev. Bailey to Rev. Baldwin, dateline Wailuku March 12, 1851. At this time, all domestic mail was carried free. It is thought the “Free” note was a bit of propaganda as the missionaries opposed attempts in the early 1850s to charge postage on local and interisland mail. In 1850-1851, Bailey was unofficially a de facto postmaster at Wailuku. The May 31, 1850 example of this mark is thought to be the earliest Hawaii postal marking, albeit unofficial.

215
oval
Color: Bluish-Green
Rarity: 1RRR, nine strikes are recorded
Usage: May 20, 1869 – July 26, 1872
After the Honolulu straightline postmark, this mark is the next Hawaii postmark to incorporate a year date.

Wailuku 215 69 - May 20

May 20, 1869

Wailuku 215 70 - Feb 16 Africa

February 16, 1870

70 - Feb 26 cover Africa

A Wailuku postmark 215 dated February 16, 1870, is stamped on the back of this cover addressed to Zulu Mission, South Africa, in care of L.S. Wood, Boston.

238.02
30mm single lined circle; note the extra-long comma after Wailuku, unique for type 238.02
Color: Black
Scarcity: 2, 27 strikes recorded.
Usage: August 2, 1879 – July 15, 1885

Wailuku 238_02 81 - May 7

May 7, 1881


Wailuku 238_02 81 - May 7 retro

May 7, 1881
(retroReveal enhanced)

285.012
36mm double lined outer and single lined inner circle; the outer circle was either worn or cut off after mid-1884; year often is weak or missing
Color: Black
Scarcity: 2
Usage: September 21, 1883 – January __, 1885
Style 277.012 is included with 285.012 because the same device made both. Strikes are about evenly divided between double outer circles and single outer circles.
Usage as 285.012: Sept. 21, 1883 – June 27, 1884
Usage as 277.012: August 8, 1884 –_, 1885

Wailuku 285_012 84 - Jan 8, ex-Davey

January 8, 1884
285.012, double outer circle


Wailuku 285_012 84 - Aug 8 single

August 8,1884, Honolulu date Aug. 9, 1884
277.012, single outer circle


Wailuku 285_012 84 - Aug 8 single retro

(retroReveal enhanced)

281.01 (I)
31mm double lined outer and single lined inner circle; inner circle is 16mm diameter and town letters are 4mm tall
Color: Black
Estimated: 5
Usage: December _, 1884 – August __, 1887

Wailuku 281_01 I 86 - Sep 17

September 17, 1886

Wailuku 281_01 I 86 - Sep 3

September 3, 1886

281.01 (II)
31mm double lined outer and single lined inner circle; inner circle is 18mm diameter and town letters are about 4mm tall by 5.5mm wide and heavily serifed; year is smudged; WAILUKU and MAUI are spread wider than in type I
Color: Black
Scarcity: 4
Usage: January 23, 1885 - November 6, 1885 but there are strikes dated in November with no year date.

Wailuku 281_01 II 85 - Apr 29

April 29, 1885

282.01 (I)
34mm double lined outer and single lined inner circle; town letters are 3.7mm tall; separation between inner circle and outer circle is 5mm
Color: Black
Scarcity: 4
Usage: September __, 1887 – July __, 1888
In October, 1888, Jno. Rothwell, was sent to Wailuku on loan from the Interior Dept. to run the office while PM McKay was ill. Rothwell learned that local postmasters used black ink, intended for steel devices, instead of the ink ”provided;” that black ink “gums and rots” the rubber so the hand stamps could not be cleaned without tearing the rubber. Rothwell thought this was “the cause of nearly all the troubles,” an apparent reference to the fact that so many devices were breaking down, and reported his findings to the PMG.

Wailuku 282_01 I 87 - Nov 16

November 16, 1887


Wailuku 282_01 I 87 - Nov 16 retro

(retroReveal enhanced)

282.01 (II)
33mm double lined outer and single lined inner circle; town letters are 3.4mm tall; separation between inner circle and outer circle is 5.5mm; the dater is oriented sideways in some strikes
Color: Purple, Blue
Estimated: 6
Usage: October 7, 1888 – June __, 1893
This mark is found on the Wailuku "Paid" stampless covers (See Rate Marks in Service Marks); blue is noted in early strikes to at least December, 1888.

Wailuku 282_01 II 88 - Dec 14

December 14, 1888


Wailuku 282_01 II 88 - Dec 14 retro

(retroReveal enhanced)


Wailuku 282_01 II 90 - Aug 22

August 22, 1890

Wailuku 281_01(II) 89 - Nov 18 stampless to French, ex-Davey

Wailuku 282.01(II) dated November 18, 1889 on a stampless cover to Kahului; payment of postage with postage stamps was required since the mid-1860s, but local postmasters short on stamps wrote a manuscript “Paid” to tell the receiving post office that postage had been paid in cash. This and a handful of similar covers emanated from Wailuku during interim postmaster Lee’s tenure. Lee was accused of embezzlement. One accusation was that he pocketed cash he collected on letters he sent stampless, as could have happened with this cover.

281.011
30mm double lined outer and single lined inner circle
Color: Purple, Black
Estimated: 9
Usage: January 16, 1892 – February 13, 1897
Purple strikes are noted to at least October, 1892; black from about June, 1893 to at least December, 1893; purple from about October, 1894 to 1896

Wailuku 281_011 94 - Jan 27

January 27, 1894

Wailuku 281_011 94 - Jan 27 retro

(retroReveal enhanced)

235.01
27mm single lined circle; outer circle is broken on both sides in all of my strikes; the year date rarely printed (if ever)
Color: Purple
Estimated: 5
Usage: __, 1894 - __, 1895
This mark is a puzzle to me because it appears to have had a heavy philatelic use and is often found on large blocks of overprinted stamps generally unavailable for ordinary postal use. All of my strikes showing any date at all are dated October 20, __. I wonder whether this mark was in actual use or was a philatelic concoction.

Wailuku 235_01 __ - Oct 20

October 20, __
(on a block of 10)


Wailuku 235_01 __ - Oct 20 retro

(retroReveal enhanced)

281.02
30mm double lined outer and single lined inner circle; inner circle is faint or missing on late strikes
Color: Purple, Black
Estimated: 9
Usage: March __, 1897 – May 18, 1900

Wailuku 281_02 98 - Oct 15

October 15, 1898


Wailuku 281_02 98 - Oct 15 retro

(retroReveal enhanced)

253.01
27mm double lined circle
Color: Purple
Estimated: 6
Usage: November 18, 1899 – June 2, 1900

Wailuku 253_01 99 - Nov 30 ex Davey

November 30, 1899
(Courtesy of Gary Peters)


Wailuku 253_01 99 - Nov 30 Peters retro

(retroReveal enhanced)

255.01
29mm double lined circle; letters seifed. letters of Wailuku set farther apart than in type 253.01.
Color: Purple
Estimated: 1RRRR, two strikes are in my record.
Usage: May __, 1900 – June __, 1900

Wailuku 255_01 00 - May _ Alan

May __, 1900
(Courtesy of Alan Furukawa)


Wailuku 255_01 00 - May _ Alan retro

(retroReveal enhanced)


Wailuku 255_01 00 - Jun _ V-P

June _, 1900
(Courtesy of David Volstrup-Perersen)

Back to Islands of Maui, Molokai and Lanai.



Copyright © 1999 - 2019 POST OFFICE IN PARADISE. All rights reserved.