Sugar was the economic base for more than a century along the fifty-mile stretch of the Hawaii Belt Road (HI 19) on this northeast, windward side of the island. Until the last two sugar mills closed in 1994, the area was characterized by unending fields of cane, only interrupted by deep gulches. The highway passes through or by a number of small, former plantation towns, including Papaikou, Pepeekeo, Honomu, Wailea, Hakalau, Ninole, Laupahoehoe, Ookala, Paauilo, Paauhau, Honokaa, and Kukuihaele. The area is now going through a transition, striving to move into diversified agriculture in order to maintain the landscape's green open space.
Writing Credits
If SAH Archipedia has been useful to you, please consider supporting it.
SAH Archipedia tells the story of the United States through its buildings, landscapes, and cities. This freely available resource empowers the public with authoritative knowledge that deepens their understanding and appreciation of the built environment. But the Society of Architectural Historians, which created SAH Archipedia with University of Virginia Press, needs your support to maintain the high-caliber research, writing, photography, cartography, editing, design, and programming that make SAH Archipedia a trusted online resource available to all who value the history of place, heritage tourism, and learning.