History of the Land
Kaupo is full of stories of chiefs during the period just before and after Western contact. In the early 1700s, Maui chief Kekaulike made Kaupo his royal seat. Soon after, Kaupo was a battleground between the chiefs of Maui and Hawaii Island. Kamehameha I, the first ruler of all the Hawaiian islands, first rose to…
In November 2005, archaeologist Patrick V. Kirch was exploring the Kaeke region in the uplands of Nuu when he came upon a curious assortment of basalt stones and flakes scattered on the ground. He immediately recognized the site as a place where native Hawaiians had fashioned adzes, the tools used to cut and shape wood….
On April 4, 1860, an ad in the Hawaiian-language newspaper Ka Hae Hawaii marked a momentous change for the history of Kaupo: "Manuokawai. SAILING REGULARLY TO LAHAINA, Kohala, Kaupo, and Kawaihae. A fine, seaworthy, fast ship. There are no problems with this ship, as the captain takes good care. Fares are reasonable for passengers, animals…
There were three trails to Kaupo in the early 1900s, but the Kipahulu trail was the main access point for Kaupo residents and visitors. Although the Kipahulu trail covered rough terrain, the alternate paths through Kahikinui or Kaupo Gap took longer, and boats came to Kaupo only once a month. There are many accounts of…
Even today, getting to Kaupo isn’t exactly easy. It takes about 2 to 3 hours from Kahului, the main town on Maui, depending on whether you drive on the nausea-inducing north road through Hana or on the rutted “backside” road through Ulupalakua. But before the roads to Kaupo were completed in the 1930s-1940s, it was…