Stores on Koloa Road, the Town’s Main Street. December 15, 2018. Karl H. Y.Lo Photo.
Koloa Plantation (1835 – 1996) put Koloa on the map in 1835. And the plantation continued to put the town on the map with the arrival of contract workers from China in 1852, from Japan in 1868, in 1885 with the second wave of Japanese and Okinawan contract laborers, from Portugal in 1878, from Germany in 1883, from Spain in 1898 (some sources say, 1907), from Puerto Rico in 1900, from Korea in 1903, from the Philippines in 1910 to 1934, and again in 1946, and from other countries, including Russia, through the years.
Today (2020), Koloa’s population is 2,144, with 730 the number of occupied homes, according to U. S. Census. That includes all who live today in what was once a hamlet, a small settlement, smaller than a village. They continue to keep Koloa on the map.
Moreover, the descendants of the plantation laborers, many of whom have left town and live elsewhere but who return often to visit families, relatives, and friends, and come to attend special events, like the annual Koloa Plantation Days Celebration, keep Koloa on the map. Koloa is their mecca of sorts, a special place they return to again and again.
1841 Koloa Mill stack. May 5, 2014. Karl H. Y. Lo Photo.
The 1841 Koloa Mill Stack was designated as a National Landmark
by the United States Park Service in 1965.
Also, visitors to historic Koloa Town, especially those who come often, many annually; those who come to live part of the year; those who come to settle down in retirement — they keep Koloa on the map.
Koloa Plantation transformed the lives of countless immigrants and their descendants. The plantation shaped the lives of generations who have called Koloa “home.”
In return, the early residents of historic Koloa Town left a legacy of hard work, a legacy of respect for other people, and a legacy of service and aloha. Their descendants, longtime and new residents, visitors, and the leaders and supporters of the annual Koloa Plantation Days Celebration will keep historic Koloa, the town that Koloa Plantation built, on the map for generations to come.
— OO —
© 2020. COPYRIGHT Catherine Pascual Lo