Places on Oahu: Hawaii’s Plantation Village

Basic Information

• Name: Hawaii’s Plantation Village
• Where: Waipahu, Hawaii
• Founded: Sept. 1992
• Cost: $15 general admission; kids: $6
• Hours: Monday-Saturday; 10AM-2PM
• More Information: Hawaii Plantation Village website

Directions

The easiest way to get to Hawaii’s Plantation Village is to take the H1 West from Honolulu and take Exit #7 at Waikele/Waipahu.  At the stoplight take a left to Waipahu.  At the fifth traffic light take a right on to Waipahu St.  This road passes through a dense business district before reaching some country land where the Plantation Village can be seen on the left side of the road.

 Narrative

Hawaii’s Plantation Village is located in the old plantation town of Waipahu on the outskirts of Honolulu.  The Plantation Village includes 25 authentic plantation homes and businesses that have been moved or reconstructed at the current site to commemorate Hawaii’s plantation history.

The buildings have links back to the immigrants from China, Portugal, Japan, Puerto Rico, Korea, Okinawa, the Philippines, and Polynesia who all worked in the fields.  In honor of these immigrants today’s Plantation Village serves as a living museum to the long gone days of Hawaii’s plantation past.  Tours of the village are given by volunteers that begin at the top of every hour.  Tours can be signed up for at the visitor center.  While waiting for a tour there is a small museum inside the visitor center that is worth checking out.  The museum has displays about how the immigrants arrived to Hawaii and many historical photographs of the island:

There are also displays about how Japanese-Americans were interned on Hawaii during World War II at a nearby camp called Honouliuli:

Honouliuli is currently being restored to become a National Monument protected by the US National Park Service.  Until the National Monument opens Hawaii’s Plantation Village is the best place to go to learn more about this black mark on America’s history:

Probably what hit home most for me was seeing the name tags the internees had to wear in the camp like they were livestock:

Outside of the museum there is also an old steam engine train that can be seen that was once used to haul sugar cane from the fields that once covered the land around Waipahu to the nearby sugar mill:

Most of Waipahu today is covered in houses and businesses, but the Plantation Village is one area in Waipahu keeping the agricultural heritage of the city alive with its large fields growing various produce:

The Oahu Sugar Mill in Waipahu was established in 1897 and was one of the last sugar mills on the island to close back in 1995.  Most of the mill’s buildings were demolished, but the today the smokestack and some old buildings are preserved by being used as a local YMCA facility. The smoke stack from the Oahu Sugar Mill can still be seen today from the Plantation Village:

Just outside of the visitor center we met up with our tour group that was led by a very knowledgable guide who had very strong family ties to Waipahu and its plantation past.  From the visitor center he walked us past some memorials that various immigrant groups had established such as these decorative totems put up by a Korean organization:

From the area with various memorials we then walked through a small tunnel that led to the Plantation Village:

The first house we saw on the tour is also its most beautiful which is the Chinese Society Building.  The structure was rebuilt based on detailed drawings of the building originally constructed in 1906 on the island of Maui:

From the Chinese Society Building there was a nice view looking down the small hill the village is constructed on down towards the fields:

From the Chinese Society Building the tour then goes house by house which is organized by ethnic group:

Organizing the tour by ethnic group showed how differently each of the cultures lived during Hawaii’s plantation past.  For example the Puerto Ricans and the Portuguese homes all had a Catholic shrine inside of them:

Here is how their kitchen looked like during the plantation days:

The Portuguese and Puerto Ricans would have used this clay stove as well for cooking:

Here is what the living room looked like in a plantation worker’s house:

Here is an example of an old sewing machine that would have been used back then:

Here is an example of the old telephones that the plantation workers would have used:

The plantation worker’s bedrooms would have also used mosquito netting:

The Japanese homes had their sandals sitting outside the door:

Here is an example of a Japanese calligraphy set and some books written in kanji:

The Korean home had Korean style drums and hats on display inside:

Here is how the kitchen in one of the Asian immigrant worker’s homes would have looked like:

Here is an example of what a kitchen used to make Asian style tofu would have looked like:

None of the homes had toilets in them, instead the plantation workers would have had to walk out behind their homes and use outhouses:

Besides houses the Plantation Village also has a number of businesses on display such as this general store:

Another business we walked by was a barber shop:

This building would have been a general office building, but is instead used as a restroom for people on the guided tour:

There was even a noodle shack on display:

After the Chinese Society Building the second most stunning structure at the Plantation Village is the Wakamiya Inari Shrine:

This Shinto Shrine was originally built in the industrial area of Kaka’ako back in 1914 and then moved to the Japanese community of Mo’ili’ili in 1918.  That is where the shrine stayed until it was moved in 1979 to the Plantation Village to make way for a sporting goods store:

At the very end of the village there is a large community hall that the Friends of Waipahu use for community gatherings and other events:

Next to the community hall is a building that housed the infirmary:

Here is an example of a dental chair inside of the infirmary:

Here is the bed patients in the hospital section of the building would have used:

Here are some examples of a wheelchair and crutches that patients would have used back then:

The final building we saw during the tour was this small plantation house:

On the side of the plantation house there is another example of what the restrooms would have looked like many decades ago:

After concluding our tour through the village our guide walked us down the hill passed the agricultural fields back to the visitor center:

Here is the view looking up the small hill back up at the Plantation Village:

Conclusion

Overall Hawaii’s Plantation Village is a location that I recommend that every local on Oahu check out to learn more about the island’s plantation past.  Even my young kids had fun exploring all the old plantation buildings.  For tourists with limited time on the island I do not consider this a must see attraction considering all the other spectacular things to see on Oahu.  For those who make repeat trips or have an extended stay on the island the Plantation Village is definitely worth checking out since it will give you a greater appreciation and understanding of the island’s past.  The Friends of Waipahu have done a great job reconstructing and maintaining this village and it is truly a hidden gem of a place to visit on Oahu.