Historic Hawaiian church built in the 19th century featuring New England-style architecture and bilingual worship services.

How to Get There

From Kahului, HI (2 mi): Drive west on Kaʻahumanu Avenue, continue onto Main Street into Wailuku, then turn left onto High Street; the church is on the right.

Overview

Ka'ahumanu Church is a Church in Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii. Upon visiting a religious service in Wailuku in 1832 by Jonathan Smith Green, Queen Ka'ahumanu requested that a more permanent church structure be named for her, but her request was not honored until 1876 when the current structure was built by Edward Bailey. Sunday services are held in the church, with the hymns and invocation invoked in the Hawaiian language.

Inception

Upon arrival to the islands, American Missionaries usually held religious services out in the open; this was later superseded by the building of thatched grassed hales, and then lumber built structures, sometimes imported from New England. The utilization of local materials became more prevalent over time

In 1832, Queen Ka'ahumanu, an early convert into Christianity, visited Maui, and came to the site of the then new Ka'ahumanu Church, witnessing services being presided by Jonathan Smith Green. Upon seeing this, Queen Ka'ahumanu asked the Congregationalist mission to name the permanent church structure after her.

First, second, and third Buildings

The first building used by Jonathan Smith Green for his services was nothing more than a simple shed; it was built on land owned by Kahale family granted under King Kamehameha III.

In 1834, due to the ballooning congregation numbers (3000 worshipers was noted at one point) a second building was built, which was a thatched structure.

Current building

The current structure, the fourth on the site, was built in 1876. It was built to honor Queen Ka'ahumanu's earlier request by Wailuku Sugar Company manager Edward Bailey. It is built in the New England simple style Gothic Architecture.

The bell and three clock faces are from the Seth-Thomas clock works, and brought over in 1884 around the Cape Horn. The apparatus was donated by the Bailey family. Chandeliers were added in 1892. Maui County officials designated the clock in Ka'ahumanu Church as the "Town Clock" in 1964.

Grounds

A stone structure to the rear of the building with one opening exists, though its purpose is unknown. The only original structure of the previous third church is a rock retaining wall fronting the church alongside High Street. Several graves also mark the site. An auxiliary building sits between the church and the Territorial Building in the Wailuku Civic Center Historic District.

Honoli'i, noted as being one of the first Native Hawaiians to be educated in New England and returning on the sailing ship Thaddeus, is buried in the cemetery.

Historic listings

The site was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 12, 1975 and the Hawaii State Register of Historic Places on May 18, 1981.

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Kaahumanu Church", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0