How familiar are you with Maui’s history? I was sitting in a County meeting last week when an archaeologist working in the Lahaina burn zone spoke of historic artifacts at some of the clean-up sites she was working at. Specifically, she mentioned that there currently isn’t a central Maui repository for these artifacts. I don’t know anything about this topic, but it caused me to pause.
The 2023 Lahaina Fire took a number of important historic sites and museum collections – from the Courthouse museum under the Banyan Tree, the Baldwin House Museum, the old Lahaina Prison Museum, the Wo Hing Temple Museum are some that come to mind.
But there are still a few museums on Maui where you can learn about Maui and Hawaii’s rich history. We toured one of them last week.
The Bailey House Museum
The Bailey House Museum is a quaint little museum in downtown Wailuku. It was formerly the home of a missionary family and site of a women’s seminary. It houses a room full of pre-missionary (pre-1820s) artifacts, as well as items from the missionary, monarchy and plantation era. Prebook your visit on their website for a personalized tour by one of their volunteer docents, or do the virtual tour.
Kepaniwai Park in Iao Valley
Learn about the various ethnic groups, many of whom were brought to Hawaii by sugar plantation owners to work the fields. This little park has free admission. While it has seen better days and could use some love and restoration, it helps explain the various ethnicities and cultures that form today’s Maui society. Note Kepaniwai Park is very popular with locals on weekends and holidays. Iao Valley State Park is up at the end of the road. It is the site of one of Maui’s most important battles. You will need to make reservations to enter and park at Iao Valley State Park.
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The A&B Sugar Museum
It has been a moment since I last visited the sugar museum ~ accompanying a field trip of one of the kids’ elementary school classes, back in the day. The old sugar factory closed down in 2016, but the museum is still around, telling another important part of Maui’s story. Go stop in and learn something new. Remember when Maui’s central valley was green with sugar cane?
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Maui is slowly ‘green-ing’ up again. Mahi Pono ended up buying all those thousands of acres of land and have planted many fruit trees, along with growing vegetables. Costco carries their limes and lemons along with pumpkins, onions and watermelons in season.
Maui Walking Tours
Check out the free Kihei and Wailuku Walking Tours. I’ve gone on both of them ~ they are well-researched and interesting. Be sure to reserve your spot!