ʻĀhualoa facts for kids

ʻĀhualoa is a small, quiet area on the Island of Hawaiʻi, also known as the Big Island, in the United States. It's located along the Hāmākua Coast, which is known for its beautiful green landscapes. The name ʻĀhualoa comes from the Hawaiian language. It means "long mound." The word ʻāhua means to swell, like a wave or a heap, and loa means long.

Geography of ʻĀhualoa

ʻĀhualoa is found at about 20 degrees North latitude and 155 degrees West longitude. The main road that goes through this area is the Old Māmalahoa Highway.

The land in ʻĀhualoa is mostly used for farming. A typical piece of land here is about 5 acres (2 hectares) in size. People use their land for homes and for small farms. They grow crops, have orchards, and raise animals.

History of ʻĀhualoa

Long ago, there are no records of Native Hawaiians living permanently in the ʻĀhualoa area. They probably visited the forests to gather resources. For example, they might have collected wood from ʻōhiʻa lehua trees or hāpuʻu ferns. However, wet forests were not usually chosen as places to live.

Research shows that the land of ʻĀhualoa was once part of several larger land divisions called ahupuaʻa. These were traditional Hawaiian land sections that stretched from the mountains to the sea. The forest areas in Hāmākua were important for gathering materials. People collected bark from wauke and māmaki trees to make fish nets and cloth. They also caught birds for their feathers and harvested koa logs for building canoes.

Unlike many other parts of Hawaii, ʻĀhualoa was never used for large sugarcane farms or big cattle ranches. Instead, in the late 1800s and early 1900s, the land was given to families of sugarcane workers as farm homesteads. Many of these families were of Japanese and Portuguese background. They were the first people to live in ʻĀhualoa, and many of today's residents are their descendants.

The original native forest was cleared to make way for farms, pastures, and windbreaks. Some small-scale ranching did happen, and there was a slaughterhouse that operated for about 100 years. ʻĀhualoa was also one of the first places where coffee was grown, and it is still grown there today.

In the 1970s, many families from Oʻahu and the mainland United States moved to ʻĀhualoa. These families were part of a movement where people wanted to live closer to nature and have a simpler life. A book called Once Upon Ahualoa shares memories and photos from this time.

Infrastructure

The main road in ʻĀhualoa has modern services like electricity, water, telephone, and cable internet. However, many people who live on the smaller side roads still get their water from rainwater tanks.

Between 2008 and 2012, the water supply in ʻĀhualoa was improved. This project received money from the government. A new deep well was dug, and a large storage tank that can hold 1 million gallons of water was built. The main water pipe was also made bigger to a 12-inch pipe. These improvements helped ensure a better water supply for the residents.

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